vagarvsvalganWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#32,028
“vagar” frequency rank
#35,804
“valgan” frequency rank
67832
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vagar valgan
Definition Tener tiempo y lugar suficiente o necesario para hacer una cosa. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de valer o de valerse.

Where the eye mixes vagar and valgan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. vagar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against valgan's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
vagar
6 ch
valgan

Why the eye confuses vagar with valgan

A purely visual mix-up. vagar ([baˈɣ̞aɾ]) and valgan ([ˈbalɣ̞ãn]) 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 67832, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vagar is recorded at frequency rank #32,028, classified as averb, pronounced [baˈɣ̞aɾ]. valgan is at rank #35,804, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈbalɣ̞ãn].

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 67832, this pair ranks #36,109 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vagar vs valgan

Shared letters: agv. Private to "vagar": r. Private to "valgan": ln.

"vagar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "valgan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vagar ← avgar · bagar · vaagr · vagarr · vaggar · vagra · vgaar · vvagar
  • valgan ← avlgan · balgan · vaglan · valagn · valgann · valggan · valgna · vallgan

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vagar" for "valgan" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([baˈɣ̞aɾ] versus [ˈbalɣ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vagar" or "valgan"?
"vagar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,028 in our Spanish list, against #35,804 for "valgan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vagar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "valgan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #36,109 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vagar" and "valgan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "valgan vs vallan". 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 #36,109 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