aprobóvsaprueboWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,677
“aprobó” frequency rank
#25,139
“apruebo” frequency rank
29816
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aprobó apruebo
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de aprobar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de aprobar.

Where the eye mixes aprobó and apruebo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. aprobó runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against apruebo's 7 (VCCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
aprobó
7 ch
apruebo

Visual trap between aprobó and apruebo

A purely visual mix-up. aprobó ([apɾoˈβ̞o]) and apruebo ([aˈpɾweβ̞o]) 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 29816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aprobó is recorded at frequency rank #4,677, classified as averb, pronounced [apɾoˈβ̞o]. apruebo is at rank #25,139, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈpɾweβ̞o].

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 29816, this pair ranks #215,125 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of aprobó vs apruebo

Shared letters: abopr. Private to "aprobó": ó. Private to "apruebo": eu.

"aprobó" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "apruebo" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apruebo ← appruebo · apreubo · aprruebo · aprubeo · apruebbo · aprueob · apruevo · apurebo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aprobó" and "apruebo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([apɾoˈβ̞o] versus [aˈpɾweβ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "aprobó" vs "apruebo" - which ranks higher?
"aprobó" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,677 in our Spanish list, against #25,139 for "apruebo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "aprobó" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "apruebo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #215,125 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aprobó" and "apruebo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apretó vs apruebo". 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 #215,125 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