apaganvsapagóWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“apagan” and “apagó” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#28,630
“apagan” frequency rank
#22,937
“apagó” frequency rank
51567
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apagan apagó
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de apagar. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de apagar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
apagan
5 ch
apagó

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. apagan ([aˈpaɣ̞ãn]) and apagó ([apaˈɣ̞o]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51567, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apagan is recorded at frequency rank #28,630, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈpaɣ̞ãn]. apagó is at rank #22,937, tagged as averb, pronounced [apaˈɣ̞o].

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 51567, this pair ranks #97,244 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of apagan vs apagó

Shared letters: agp. Private to "apagan": n. Private to "apagó": ó.

"apagan" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "apagó" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apaganaapgan · apaagn · apagann · apaggan · apagna · apgaan · appagan · paagan

Frequency comparison

apagan#28,630
apagó#22,937

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apagan" and "apagó" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈpaɣ̞ãn] versus [apaˈɣ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "apagan" or "apagó"?
"apagó" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,937 in our Spanish list, against #28,630 for "apagan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering apagan vs apagó

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “apagan” 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