apretabavsaprobabaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#49,425
“apretaba” frequency rank
#37,422
“aprobaba” frequency rank
86847
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apretaba aprobaba
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de apretar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de aprobar.

Where the eye mixes apretaba and aprobaba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
apretaba
8 ch
aprobaba

Visual trap between apretaba and aprobaba

A purely visual mix-up. apretaba ([apɾeˈt̪aβ̞a]) and aprobaba ([apɾoˈβ̞aβ̞a]) 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 86847, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apretaba is recorded at frequency rank #49,425, classified as averb, pronounced [apɾeˈt̪aβ̞a]. aprobaba is at rank #37,422, tagged as averb, pronounced [apɾoˈβ̞aβ̞a].

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 86847, this pair ranks #4,968 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of apretaba vs aprobaba

Shared letters: abpr. Private to "apretaba": et. Private to "aprobaba": o.

"apretaba" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV  ·  "aprobaba" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apretabaapertaba · appretaba · apreatba · apretaab · apretabba · apretava · apretbaa · aprettaba
  • aprobabaaporbaba · approbaba · aprboaba · aproabba · aprobaab · aprobabba · aprobbaa · aprobbaba

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apretaba" and "aprobaba" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([apɾeˈt̪aβ̞a] versus [apɾoˈβ̞aβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "apretaba" or "aprobaba"?
"aprobaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,422 in our Spanish list, against #49,425 for "apretaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "apretaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aprobaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #4,968 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "apretaba" and "aprobaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apretaba vs apretadas". 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 #4,968 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