apuntarvsapurarTell them apart

Which to use

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

#11,162
“apuntar” frequency rank
#32,965
“apurar” frequency rank
44127
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature apuntar apurar
Definition Dirigir un arma hacia un objetivo. Purificar o limpiar.

Where the eye mixes apuntar and apurar

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

7 ch
apuntar
6 ch
apurar

Visual trap between apuntar and apurar

A purely visual mix-up. apuntar ([apũn̪ˈt̪aɾ]) and apurar ([apuˈɾaɾ]) 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 44127, 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]. apurar is at rank #32,965, tagged as averb, pronounced [apuˈɾaɾ].

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 44127, this pair ranks #138,762 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of apuntar vs apurar

Shared letters: apru. Private to "apuntar": nt. Private to "apurar": -.

"apuntar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "apurar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • apuntar ← apnutar · appuntar · apunatr · apunntar · apuntarr · apuntra · apunttar · aputnar
  • apurar ← appurar · apruar · apuarr · apurarr · apurra · apurrar · auprar · paurar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "apuntar" and "apurar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([apũn̪ˈt̪aɾ] versus [apuˈɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "apuntar" vs "apurar" - which ranks higher?
"apuntar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,162 in our Spanish list, against #32,965 for "apurar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "apuntar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "apurar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #138,762 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "apuntar" and "apurar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apurar vs apures". 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 #138,762 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