aplicarvsaplicoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,861
“aplicar” frequency rank
#35,349
“aplico” frequency rank
38210
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aplicar aplico
Definition Poner una cosa sobre o en contacto de otra. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de aplicar o de aplicarse.

Where the eye mixes aplicar and aplico

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. aplicar runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against aplico's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
aplicar
6 ch
aplico

Look-alike desk: aplicar vs aplico

A purely visual mix-up. aplicar ([apliˈkaɾ]) and aplico ([aˈpliko]) 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 38210, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aplicar is recorded at frequency rank #2,861, classified as averb, pronounced [apliˈkaɾ]. aplico is at rank #35,349, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈpliko].

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 38210, this pair ranks #171,232 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aplicar vs aplico

Shared letters: acilp. Private to "aplicar": r. Private to "aplico": o.

"aplicar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "aplico" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aplicar ← alpicar · apilcar · aplciar · apliacr · aplicarr · apliccar · aplicra · apllicar
  • aplico ← alpico · apilco · aplcio · aplicco · aplioc · apllico · applico · palico

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "aplicar" and "aplico" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([apliˈkaɾ] versus [aˈpliko]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aplicar" or "aplico"?
"aplicar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,861 in our Spanish list, against #35,349 for "aplico". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "aplicar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aplico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #171,232 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aplicar" and "aplico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alió vs aplico". 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 #171,232 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