apagavsapagónWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#10,448
“apaga” frequency rank
#15,276
“apagón” frequency rank
25724
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apaga apagón
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de apagar. Corte temporal, súbito e inesperado del suministro de energía eléctrica.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set apaga and apagón apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
apaga
6 ch
apagón

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: apaga is [aˈpaɣ̞a] while apagón is [apaˈɣ̞õn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25724, 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]. apagón is at rank #15,276, tagged as anoun, pronounced [apaˈɣ̞õn].

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 25724, this pair ranks #235,111 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of apaga vs apagón

Shared letters: agp. Private to "apaga": -. Private to "apagón": .

"apaga" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "apagón" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apagaaapga · apaag · apagga · apgaa · appaga · paaga

Frequency comparison

apaga#10,448
apagón#15,276

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apaga" and "apagón" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "apaga" is a verb and "apagón" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "apaga" or "apagón"?
"apaga" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,448 in our Spanish list, against #15,276 for "apagón". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering apaga vs apagón

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “apaga”; for a noun, it's “apagón”.
  • 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