aplaudenvsaplaudirConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#23,302
“aplauden” frequency rank
#17,038
“aplaudir” frequency rank
40340
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aplauden aplaudir
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de aplaudir. Dar palmadas en señal de aprobación o entusiasmo.

Where the eye mixes aplauden and aplaudir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. aplauden and aplaudir follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
aplauden
8 ch
aplaudir

Visual trap between aplauden and aplaudir

A purely visual mix-up. aplauden ([aˈplawð̞ẽn]) and aplaudir ([aplawˈð̞iɾ]) 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 40340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aplauden is recorded at frequency rank #23,302, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈplawð̞ẽn]. aplaudir is at rank #17,038, tagged as averb, pronounced [aplawˈð̞iɾ].

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 40340, this pair ranks #159,632 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aplauden vs aplaudir

Shared letters: adlpu. Private to "aplauden": en. Private to "aplaudir": ir.

"aplauden" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC  ·  "aplaudir" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aplauden ← alpauden · apaluden · apladuen · aplaudden · aplaudenn · aplaudne · aplauedn · apllauden
  • aplaudir ← alpaudir · apaludir · apladuir · aplauddir · aplaudirr · aplaudri · aplauidr · apllaudir

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "aplauden" for "aplaudir" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aˈplawð̞ẽn] versus [aplawˈð̞iɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aplauden" or "aplaudir"?
"aplaudir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,038 in our Spanish list, against #23,302 for "aplauden". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aplauden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aplaudir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #159,632 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aplauden" and "aplaudir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aplaudan vs aplauden". 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 #159,632 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