aquelvsaquellaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: aquel is a pronoun, aquella is an unknown, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“aquel” is a pronoun and “aquella” is an unknown - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,189
“aquel” frequency rank
#1,800
“aquella” frequency rank
2989
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature aquel aquella
Definition Se refiere a algo que está lejos, en el espacio o en el tiempo, de la persona que habla y de la persona con quien se habla. Forma del femenino de aquel.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set aquel and aquella apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
aquel
7 ch
aquella

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

aquel and aquella form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “aquel” sits inside “aquella” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2989, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

aquel is recorded at frequency rank #1,189, classified as apron, pronounced [aˈkel]. aquella is at rank #1,800, tagged as anunknown, pronounced [aˈkeʝa].

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 2989, this pair ranks #319,247 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

aquel#1,189
aquella#1,800

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "aquel" and "aquella" be used interchangeably?
No, "aquel" and "aquella" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering aquel vs aquella

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “aquel”; for an unknown, it's “aquella”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “aquel” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list