aplacarvsaplastarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#35,347
“aplacar” frequency rank
#19,917
“aplastar” frequency rank
55264
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aplacar aplastar
Definition Calmar o apaciguar el ánimo violento o excitado de una persona o grupo. Aplanar o alisar una cosa ejerciendo presión sobre la misma.

Where the eye mixes aplacar and aplastar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. aplacar runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against aplastar's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
aplacar
8 ch
aplastar

Visual trap between aplacar and aplastar

A purely visual mix-up. aplacar ([aplaˈkaɾ]) and aplastar ([aplasˈt̪aɾ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aplacar is recorded at frequency rank #35,347, classified as averb, pronounced [aplaˈkaɾ]. aplastar is at rank #19,917, tagged as averb, pronounced [aplasˈt̪aɾ].

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 55264, this pair ranks #79,676 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of aplacar vs aplastar

Shared letters: alpr. Private to "aplacar": c. Private to "aplastar": st.

"aplacar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "aplastar" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aplacaralpacar · apalcar · aplaacr · aplacarr · aplaccar · aplacra · aplcaar · apllacar
  • aplastaralpastar · apalstar · aplasatr · aplasstar · aplastarr · aplastra · aplasttar · aplatsar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aplacar" and "aplastar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aplaˈkaɾ] versus [aplasˈt̪aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aplacar" or "aplastar"?
"aplastar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,917 in our Spanish list, against #35,347 for "aplacar". 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 "aplacar" and "aplastar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aplacar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aplastar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #79,676 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aplacar" and "aplastar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aplacar vs atracar". 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 #79,676 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