apagarsevsapoyarseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#47,552
“apagarse” frequency rank
#24,729
“apoyarse” frequency rank
72281
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apagarse apoyarse
Definition Apagar (uso pronominal de ...) Dejarse caer uno mismo, o su cuerpo, sobre algún otro objeto o persona, con tal de que sea sostenido.

Where the eye mixes apagarse and apoyarse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. apagarse (VCVCVCCV) and apoyarse (VCVVVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
apagarse
8 ch
apoyarse

Look-alike desk: apagarse vs apoyarse

A purely visual mix-up. apagarse ([apaˈɣ̞aɾse]) and apoyarse ([apoˈʝaɾse]) 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 72281, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apagarse is recorded at frequency rank #47,552, classified as averb, pronounced [apaˈɣ̞aɾse]. apoyarse is at rank #24,729, tagged as averb, pronounced [apoˈʝaɾse].

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 72281, this pair ranks #25,692 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of apagarse vs apoyarse

Shared letters: aeprs. Private to "apagarse": g. Private to "apoyarse": oy.

"apagarse" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV  ·  "apoyarse" · 8 letters · shape VCVVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apagarse ← aapgarse · apaagrse · apagarce · apagares · apagarrse · apagarsse · apagasre · apaggarse
  • apoyarse ← aopyarse · apoayrse · apoyarce · apoyares · apoyarrse · apoyarsse · apoyasre · apoyrase

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apagarse" and "apoyarse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([apaˈɣ̞aɾse] versus [apoˈʝaɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "apagarse" vs "apoyarse" - which ranks higher?
"apoyarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #24,729 in our Spanish list, against #47,552 for "apagarse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "apagarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "apoyarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #25,692 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "apagarse" and "apoyarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ahogarse vs apagarse". 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 #25,692 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list