apevsápiceWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#45,736
“ape” frequency rank
#18,127
“ápice” frequency rank
63863
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ape ápice
Definition Espalda. Extremo superior o punta de alguna cosa.

Where the eye mixes ape and ápice

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
ape
5 ch
ápice

Why the eye confuses ape with ápice

A purely visual mix-up. ape ([aˈpe]) and ápice ([ˈapise]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ape is recorded at frequency rank #45,736, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈpe]. ápice is at rank #18,127, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈapise].

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 63863, this pair ranks #47,342 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ape vs ápice

Shared letters: ep. Private to "ape": a. Private to "ápice": ciá.

"ape" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "ápice" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "ape" for "ápice" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aˈpe] versus [ˈapise]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "ape" vs "ápice" - which ranks higher?
"ápice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,127 in our Spanish list, against #45,736 for "ape". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ape" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ápice" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #47,342 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ape" and "ápice" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ape vs apis". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #47,342 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