apevsaroWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#45,736
“ape” frequency rank
#14,762
“aro” frequency rank
60498
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ape aro
Definition Espalda. Planta perenne de la familia de las aroideas, con raíz tuberculosa y feculenta, de la cual salen las hojas, que son sagitales, lisas, grandes y de color verde oscuro manchado a veces de negro; con bohordo central, de tres a cuatro decímetros de altura, con espata larga y amarillenta que envuelve flores sin cáliz ni corola; espádice purpúreo prolongado en figura de maza, y frutos del color y tamaño de la grosella.

Where the eye mixes ape and aro

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
ape
3 ch
aro

Look-alike desk: ape vs aro

A purely visual mix-up. ape ([aˈpe]) and aro ([ˈaɾo]) 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 60498, 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]. aro is at rank #14,762, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈaɾo].

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 60498, this pair ranks #58,739 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ape vs aro

Shared letters: a. Private to "ape": ep. Private to "aro": or.

"ape" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "aro" · 3 letters · shape VCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "ape" and "aro" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([aˈpe] versus [ˈaɾo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ape" or "aro"?
"aro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,762 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.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "ape" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #58,739 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ape" and "aro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ape vs apis". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #58,739 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