Which to use
“apretó” is a verb and “apto” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,204
- “apretó” frequency rank
- #11,711
- “apto” frequency rank
- 42915
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | apretó | apto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de apretar. | Que sirve, es adecuado o está disponible para un fin o propósito |
Where the eye mixes apretó and apto
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. apretó runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against apto's 4 (VCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses apretó with apto
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: apretó is [apɾeˈt̪o] while apto is [ˈapt̪o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 42915, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
apretó is recorded at frequency rank #31,204, classified as averb, pronounced [apɾeˈt̪o]. apto is at rank #11,711, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈapt̪o].
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 42915, this pair ranks #145,571 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of apretó vs apto
Shared letters: apt. Private to "apretó": eró. Private to "apto": o.
"apretó" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "apto" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- apto ← apot · appto · aptto · atpo
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "apretó" for "apto" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "apretó" or "apto" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "apretó" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #145,571 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "apretó" and "apto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apreté vs apretó". 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 #145,571 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.