aprobarvsaprobéWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,069
“aprobar” frequency rank
#39,575
“aprobé” frequency rank
44644
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aprobar aprobé
Definition Dar por bueno o conforme algo. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de aprobar.

Where the eye mixes aprobar and aprobé

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. aprobar runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against aprobé's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
aprobar
6 ch
aprobé

Visual trap between aprobar and aprobé

A purely visual mix-up. aprobar ([apɾoˈβ̞aɾ]) and aprobé ([apɾoˈβ̞e]) 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 44644, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aprobar is recorded at frequency rank #5,069, classified as averb, pronounced [apɾoˈβ̞aɾ]. aprobé is at rank #39,575, tagged as averb, pronounced [apɾoˈβ̞e].

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 44644, this pair ranks #135,916 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aprobar vs aprobé

Shared letters: abopr. Private to "aprobar": -. Private to "aprobé": é.

"aprobar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "aprobé" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aprobar ← aporbar · approbar · aprboar · aproabr · aprobarr · aprobbar · aprobra · aprovar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "aprobar" and "aprobé" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([apɾoˈβ̞aɾ] versus [apɾoˈβ̞e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aprobar" vs "aprobé" - which ranks higher?
"aprobar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,069 in our Spanish list, against #39,575 for "aprobé". 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 "aprobar" and "aprobé" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aprobar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aprobé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #135,916 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aprobar" and "aprobé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apreté vs aprobé". 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 #135,916 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