Which to use
“apaga” and “apena” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,448
- “apaga” frequency rank
- #36,920
- “apena” frequency rank
- 47368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | apaga | apena |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de apagar. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de apenar o de apenarse. |
Where the eye mixes apaga and apena
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. apaga and apena follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: apaga vs apena
A purely visual mix-up. apaga ([aˈpaɣ̞a]) and apena ([aˈpena]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47368, 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]. apena is at rank #36,920, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈpena].
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 47368, this pair ranks #120,430 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of apaga vs apena
Shared letters: ap. Private to "apaga": g. Private to "apena": en.
"apaga" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "apena" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "apaga" for "apena" ever safe?
Which is more common, "apaga" or "apena"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "apaga" and "apena" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "apaga" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apena" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #120,430 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "apaga" and "apena" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apena vs apenado". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #120,430 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.