aparecíavsaparecióWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,931
“aparecía” frequency rank
#2,487
“apareció” frequency rank
12418
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aparecía apareció
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de aparecer o de aparecerse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de aparecer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aparecía and apareció apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
aparecía
8 ch
apareció

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. aparecía ([apaɾeˈsia]) and apareció ([apaɾeˈsjo]) 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 12418, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aparecía is recorded at frequency rank #9,931, classified as averb, pronounced [apaɾeˈsia]. apareció is at rank #2,487, tagged as averb, pronounced [apaɾeˈsjo].

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 12418, this pair ranks #291,632 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aparecía vs apareció

Shared letters: acepr. Private to "aparecía": í. Private to "apareció": .

"aparecía" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVV  ·  "apareció" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

aparecía#9,931
apareció#2,487

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aparecía" and "apareció" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([apaɾeˈsia] versus [apaɾeˈsjo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aparecía" or "apareció"?
"apareció" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,487 in our Spanish list, against #9,931 for "aparecía". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering aparecía vs apareció

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 “aparecía” 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