Which to use
“apagar” and “avalar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,467
- “apagar” frequency rank
- #38,513
- “avalar” frequency rank
- 46980
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | apagar | avalar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hacer que un aparato electrónico deje de estar encendido. | Responder con el dinero y las propiedades de uno mismo por las deudas que pueda contraer otra persona. Servir de fiador, avalista o avalador. |
Where the eye mixes apagar and avalar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses apagar with avalar
A purely visual mix-up. apagar ([apaˈɣ̞aɾ]) and avalar ([aβ̞aˈlaɾ]) 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 46980, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
apagar is recorded at frequency rank #8,467, classified as averb, pronounced [apaˈɣ̞aɾ]. avalar is at rank #38,513, tagged as averb, pronounced [aβ̞aˈlaɾ].
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 46980, this pair ranks #122,663 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of apagar vs avalar
Shared letters: ar. Private to "apagar": gp. Private to "avalar": lv.
"apagar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "avalar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "apagar" and "avalar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "apagar" or "avalar" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "apagar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "avalar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #122,663 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "apagar" and "avalar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "afilar vs avalar". 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 #122,663 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.