aparecíavsaparezcaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,931
“aparecía” frequency rank
#7,953
“aparezca” frequency rank
17884
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aparecía aparezca
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de aparecer o de aparecerse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de aparecer o de aparecerse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aparecía and aparezca apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
aparecía
8 ch
aparezca

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. aparecía ([apaɾeˈsia]) and aparezca ([apaˈɾeska]) 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 17884, 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]. aparezca is at rank #7,953, tagged as averb, pronounced [apaˈɾeska].

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 17884, this pair ranks #270,279 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aparecía vs aparezca

Shared letters: acepr. Private to "aparecía": í. Private to "aparezca": z.

"aparecía" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVV  ·  "aparezca" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aparezcaaaprezca · apaerzca · aparecza · aparezac · aparezcca · aparezzca · aparrezca · aparzeca

Frequency comparison

aparecía#9,931
aparezca#7,953

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aparecía" and "aparezca" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([apaɾeˈsia] versus [apaˈɾeska]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aparecía" or "aparezca"?
"aparezca" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,953 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 aparezca

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