apuntarvsapuntaronConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#11,162
“apuntar” frequency rank
#34,881
“apuntaron” frequency rank
46043
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apuntar apuntaron
Definition Dirigir un arma hacia un objetivo. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de apuntar o de apuntarse.

Where the eye mixes apuntar and apuntaron

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. apuntar runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against apuntaron's 9 (VCVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
apuntar
9 ch
apuntaron

Visual trap between apuntar and apuntaron

A purely visual mix-up. apuntar ([apũn̪ˈt̪aɾ]) and apuntaron ([apũn̪ˈt̪aɾõn]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “apuntar” sits inside “apuntaron”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

apuntar is recorded at frequency rank #11,162, classified as averb, pronounced [apũn̪ˈt̪aɾ]. apuntaron is at rank #34,881, tagged as averb, pronounced [apũn̪ˈt̪aɾõn].

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 46043, this pair ranks #128,009 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of apuntar vs apuntaron

Shared letters: anprtu. Private to "apuntar": -. Private to "apuntaron": o.

"apuntar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "apuntaron" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apuntar ← apnutar · appuntar · apunatr · apunntar · apuntarr · apuntra · apunttar · aputnar
  • apuntaron ← apnutaron · appuntaron · apunatron · apunntaron · apuntaorn · apuntarno · apuntaronn · apuntarron

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "apuntar" for "apuntaron" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([apũn̪ˈt̪aɾ] versus [apũn̪ˈt̪aɾõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "apuntar" vs "apuntaron" - which ranks higher?
"apuntar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,162 in our Spanish list, against #34,881 for "apuntaron". 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 "apuntar" and "apuntaron" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "apuntar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "apuntaron" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #128,009 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "apuntar" and "apuntaron" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apuntaron vs asustaron". 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 #128,009 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