relaciónvsrelacionarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: relación is a noun, relacionar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“relación” is a noun and “relacionar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#473
“relación” frequency rank
#18,374
“relacionar” frequency rank
18847
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature relación relacionar
Definition Una conexión existente entre personas o cosas. Exponer un hecho, hacer relación de un evento.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set relación and relacionar apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
relación
10 ch
relacionar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: relación is [relaˈsjõn] while relacionar is [relasjoˈnaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18847, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

relación is recorded at frequency rank #473, classified as anoun, pronounced [relaˈsjõn]. relacionar is at rank #18,374, tagged as averb, pronounced [relasjoˈnaɾ].

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 18847, this pair ranks #266,229 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of relación vs relacionar

Shared letters: aceilnr. Private to "relación": ó. Private to "relacionar": o.

"relación" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVVC  ·  "relacionar" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • relacionarerlacionar · realcionar · relaccionar · relacinoar · relacioanr · relacionarr · relacionnar · relacionra

Frequency comparison

relación#473
relacionar#18,374

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "relación" and "relacionar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "relación" is a noun and "relacionar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "relación" or "relacionar"?
"relación" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #473 in our Spanish list, against #18,374 for "relacionar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering relación vs relacionar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “relación”; for a verb, it's “relacionar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “relación” 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