apoyavsaptaConfusable pair

Quick tell: apoya is a verb, apta is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“apoya” is a verb and “apta” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,225
“apoya” frequency rank
#20,890
“apta” frequency rank
24115
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apoya apta
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de apoyar o de apoyarse. Forma del femenino singular de apto.

Where the eye mixes apoya and apta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
apoya
4 ch
apta

Visual trap between apoya and apta

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: apoya is [aˈpoʝa] while apta is [ˈapt̪a]. 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 24115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apoya is recorded at frequency rank #3,225, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈpoʝa]. apta is at rank #20,890, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈapt̪a].

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 24115, this pair ranks #242,639 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of apoya vs apta

Shared letters: ap. Private to "apoya": oy. Private to "apta": t.

"apoya" · 5 letters · shape VCVVV  ·  "apta" · 4 letters · shape VCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apoyaaopya · apoay · apoyya · appoya · apyoa · paoya
  • aptaapat · appta · aptta

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "apoya" and "apta" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "apoya" is a verb and "apta" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "apoya" vs "apta" - which ranks higher?
"apoya" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,225 in our Spanish list, against #20,890 for "apta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "apoya" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "apta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #242,639 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "apoya" and "apta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apis vs apta". 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 #242,639 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