apagavsapagadaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: apaga is a verb, apagada is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“apaga” is a verb and “apagada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,448
“apaga” frequency rank
#22,936
“apagada” frequency rank
33384
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apaga apagada
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de apagar. Forma del femenino de apagado, participio de apagar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set apaga and apagada apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
apaga
7 ch
apagada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

apaga and apagada form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “apaga” sits inside “apagada” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33384, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apaga is recorded at frequency rank #10,448, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈpaɣ̞a]. apagada is at rank #22,936, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [apaˈɣ̞að̞a].

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 33384, this pair ranks #197,087 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

apaga#10,448
apagada#22,936

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apaga" and "apagada" be used interchangeably?
No, "apaga" and "apagada" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering apaga vs apagada

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “apaga”; for a participle, it's “apagada”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “apaga” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list