Which to use
“ampliación” and “aplicación” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,793
- “ampliación” frequency rank
- #1,131
- “aplicación” frequency rank
- 6924
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ampliación | aplicación |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acción o efecto de ampliar (hacer más amplio, aumentar en tamaño, profundidad, contenido, cantidad, duración, etc.). | La acción y el efecto de untar algo sobre alguna superficie. |
Where the eye mixes ampliación and aplicación
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. ampliación (VCCCVVCVVC) and aplicación (VCCVCVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses ampliación with aplicación
A purely visual mix-up. ampliación ([ãmpljaˈsjõn]) and aplicación ([aplikaˈsjõn]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6924, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ampliación is recorded at frequency rank #5,793, classified as anoun, pronounced [ãmpljaˈsjõn]. aplicación is at rank #1,131, tagged as anoun, pronounced [aplikaˈsjõn].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 6924, this pair ranks #309,436 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ampliación vs aplicación
Shared letters: acilnpó. Private to "ampliación": m. Private to "aplicación": -.
"ampliación" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVVCVVC · "aplicación" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ampliación" for "aplicación" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "ampliación" or "aplicación" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ampliación" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aplicación" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #309,436 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ampliación" and "aplicación" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ampliación vs ampliaron". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #309,436 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.