Which to use
“apuñala” is a verb and “apuntada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,929
- “apuñala” frequency rank
- #45,126
- “apuntada” frequency rank
- 92055
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | apuñala | apuntada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de apuñalar. | Forma del femenino de apuntado, participio de apuntar o de apuntarse. |
Where the eye mixes apuñala and apuntada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. apuñala runs 7 letters (VCVCVCV) against apuntada's 8 (VCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between apuñala and apuntada
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: apuñala is [apuˈɲala] while apuntada is [apũn̪ˈt̪að̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 92055, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
apuñala is recorded at frequency rank #46,929, classified as averb, pronounced [apuˈɲala]. apuntada is at rank #45,126, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [apũn̪ˈt̪að̞a].
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 92055, this pair ranks #1,695 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of apuñala vs apuntada
Shared letters: apu. Private to "apuñala": lñ. Private to "apuntada": dnt.
"apuñala" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV · "apuntada" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- apuntada ← apnutada · appuntada · apunatda · apunntada · apuntaad · apuntadda · apuntdaa · apunttada
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "apuñala" for "apuntada" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "apuñala" or "apuntada" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "apuñala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apuntada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,695 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "apuñala" and "apuntada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apuñala vs apuntalar". 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 #1,695 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.