apoyarvsapoyarseWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,007
“apoyar” frequency rank
#24,729
“apoyarse” frequency rank
26736
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apoyar apoyarse
Definition Dicho de un bebé: tomar la leche de la teta. Dejarse caer uno mismo, o su cuerpo, sobre algún otro objeto o persona, con tal de que sea sostenido.

Where the eye mixes apoyar and apoyarse

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

6 ch
apoyar
8 ch
apoyarse

Look-alike desk: apoyar vs apoyarse

A purely visual mix-up. apoyar ([apoˈʝaɾ]) and apoyarse ([apoˈʝaɾse]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “apoyar” sits inside “apoyarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26736, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apoyar is recorded at frequency rank #2,007, classified as averb, pronounced [apoˈʝaɾ]. apoyarse is at rank #24,729, tagged as averb, pronounced [apoˈʝaɾse].

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 26736, this pair ranks #230,210 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of apoyar vs apoyarse

Shared letters: aopry. Private to "apoyar": -. Private to "apoyarse": es.

"apoyar" · 6 letters · shape VCVVVC  ·  "apoyarse" · 8 letters · shape VCVVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apoyar ← aopyar · apoayr · apoyarr · apoyra · apoyyar · appoyar · apyoar · paoyar
  • apoyarse ← aopyarse · apoayrse · apoyarce · apoyares · apoyarrse · apoyarsse · apoyasre · apoyrase

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "apoyar" for "apoyarse" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([apoˈʝaɾ] versus [apoˈʝaɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "apoyar" vs "apoyarse" - which ranks higher?
"apoyar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,007 in our Spanish list, against #24,729 for "apoyarse". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "apoyar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "apoyarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #230,210 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "apoyar" and "apoyarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apoyarse vs asomarse". 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 #230,210 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