apartandovsapretandoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#48,804
“apartando” frequency rank
#23,305
“apretando” frequency rank
72109
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apartando apretando
Definition Gerundio de apartar. Gerundio de apretar.

Where the eye mixes apartando and apretando

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. apartando (VCVCCVCCV) and apretando (VCCVCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

9 ch
apartando
9 ch
apretando

Why the eye confuses apartando with apretando

A purely visual mix-up. apartando ([apaɾˈt̪ãn̪d̪o]) and apretando ([apɾeˈt̪ãn̪d̪o]) 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 72109, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apartando is recorded at frequency rank #48,804, classified as averb, pronounced [apaɾˈt̪ãn̪d̪o]. apretando is at rank #23,305, tagged as averb, pronounced [apɾeˈt̪ãn̪d̪o].

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 72109, this pair ranks #26,093 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of apartando vs apretando

Shared letters: adnoprt. Private to "apartando": -. Private to "apretando": e.

"apartando" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV  ·  "apretando" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apartando ← aaprtando · aparatndo · aparrtando · apartadno · apartanddo · apartanndo · apartanod · apartnado
  • apretando ← apertando · appretando · apreatndo · apretadno · apretanddo · apretanndo · apretanod · apretnado

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apartando" and "apretando" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([apaɾˈt̪ãn̪d̪o] versus [apɾeˈt̪ãn̪d̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "apartando" vs "apretando" - which ranks higher?
"apretando" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,305 in our Spanish list, against #48,804 for "apartando". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "apartando" and "apretando" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "apartando" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "apretando" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #26,093 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "apartando" and "apretando" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apartan vs apartando". 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 #26,093 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