aplicabavsaplicanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,237
“aplicaba” frequency rank
#8,081
“aplican” frequency rank
36318
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aplicaba aplican
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de aplicar o de aplicarse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de aplicar o de aplicarse.

Where the eye mixes aplicaba and aplican

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

8 ch
aplicaba
7 ch
aplican

Visual trap between aplicaba and aplican

A purely visual mix-up. aplicaba ([apliˈkaβ̞a]) and aplican ([aˈplikãn]) 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 36318, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aplicaba is recorded at frequency rank #28,237, classified as averb, pronounced [apliˈkaβ̞a]. aplican is at rank #8,081, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈplikãn].

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 36318, this pair ranks #181,275 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aplicaba vs aplican

Shared letters: acilp. Private to "aplicaba": b. Private to "aplican": n.

"aplicaba" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV  ·  "aplican" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aplicaba ← alpicaba · apilcaba · aplciaba · apliacba · aplicaab · aplicabba · aplicava · aplicbaa
  • aplican ← alpican · apilcan · aplcian · apliacn · aplicann · apliccan · aplicna · apllican

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aplicaba" and "aplican" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([apliˈkaβ̞a] versus [aˈplikãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aplicaba" vs "aplican" - which ranks higher?
"aplican" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,081 in our Spanish list, against #28,237 for "aplicaba". 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 "aplicaba" and "aplican" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aplicaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aplican" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #181,275 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aplicaba" and "aplican" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aplicaba vs aplicaría". 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 #181,275 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