Which to use
“apegado” is a verb and “apretado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #39,051
- “apegado” frequency rank
- #17,040
- “apretado” frequency rank
- 56091
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | apegado | apretado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participio de apegar o de apegarse. | Muy junto y falto de espacio. |
Where the eye mixes apegado and apretado
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between apegado and apretado
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: apegado is [apeˈɣ̞að̞o] while apretado is [apɾeˈt̪að̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56091, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
apegado is recorded at frequency rank #39,051, classified as averb, pronounced [apeˈɣ̞að̞o]. apretado is at rank #17,040, tagged as anadj, pronounced [apɾeˈt̪að̞o].
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 56091, this pair ranks #76,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of apegado vs apretado
Shared letters: adeop. Private to "apegado": g. Private to "apretado": rt.
"apegado" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV · "apretado" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "apegado" for "apretado" ever safe?
Which is more common, "apegado" or "apretado"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "apegado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apretado" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #76,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "apegado" and "apretado" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apegado vs apenado". 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 #76,078 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.