apretarvsapretéWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,839
“apretar” frequency rank
#49,426
“apreté” frequency rank
63265
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apretar apreté
Definition Estrechar u oprimir algo. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de apretar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set apretar and apreté apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
apretar
6 ch
apreté

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. apretar ([apɾeˈt̪aɾ]) and apreté ([apɾeˈt̪e]) 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 63265, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apretar is recorded at frequency rank #13,839, classified as averb, pronounced [apɾeˈt̪aɾ]. apreté is at rank #49,426, tagged as averb, pronounced [apɾeˈt̪e].

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 63265, this pair ranks #49,314 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of apretar vs apreté

Shared letters: aeprt. Private to "apretar": -. Private to "apreté": é.

"apretar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "apreté" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apretarapertar · appretar · apreatr · apretarr · apretra · aprettar · aprretar · aprtear

Frequency comparison

apretar#13,839
apreté#49,426

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "apretar" and "apreté" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([apɾeˈt̪aɾ] versus [apɾeˈt̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "apretar" or "apreté"?
"apretar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,839 in our Spanish list, against #49,426 for "apreté". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering apretar vs apreté

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “apretar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list