apruebavsapruebanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,033
“aprueba” frequency rank
#13,840
“aprueban” frequency rank
19873
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aprueba aprueban
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de aprobar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de aprobar.

Where the eye mixes aprueba and aprueban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. aprueba runs 7 letters (VCCVVCV) against aprueban's 8 (VCCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
aprueba
8 ch
aprueban

Visual trap between aprueba and aprueban

A purely visual mix-up. aprueba ([aˈpɾweβ̞a]) and aprueban ([aˈpɾweβ̞ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “aprueba” sits inside “aprueban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19873, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aprueba is recorded at frequency rank #6,033, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈpɾweβ̞a]. aprueban is at rank #13,840, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈpɾweβ̞ãn].

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 19873, this pair ranks #261,839 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of aprueba vs aprueban

Shared letters: abepru. Private to "aprueba": -. Private to "aprueban": n.

"aprueba" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV  ·  "aprueban" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • aprueba ← apprueba · apreuba · aprrueba · aprubea · aprueab · apruebba · aprueva · apureba
  • aprueban ← apprueban · apreuban · aprrueban · aprubean · aprueabn · apruebann · apruebban · apruebna

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "aprueba" and "aprueban" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([aˈpɾweβ̞a] versus [aˈpɾweβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "aprueba" or "aprueban"?
"aprueba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,033 in our Spanish list, against #13,840 for "aprueban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "aprueba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aprueban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #261,839 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "aprueba" and "aprueban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aprietan vs aprueban". 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 #261,839 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