se

[se]

/[se]/ pron

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“se” is in the everyday core of Spanish, ranked #11 in Spanish word frequency and used as a pronoun.

#11
frequency rank, Spanish
2
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - (se reflexivo) Pronombre reflexivo anafórico que establece una correferencialidad con el sujeto de la oración en tercera persona. Equivalente al caso dativo, por lo que admite el refuerzo “a sí mis...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

se vs su
50% similar
se vs sí
50% similar
se vs so
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for se
PropertyValue
Headwordse
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechPronoun
IPA[se]
Letters2
Frequency rank#11
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “se” sits in Spanish frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). se lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The Spanish entry for se is 2 letters long, classified as a pronoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [se]. Corpus data places it at rank #11 in overall Spanish word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 8 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for se in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "su", "sí", "so", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Spanish form is se, spelled S-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    (se reflexivo) Pronombre reflexivo anafórico que establece una correferencialidad con el sujeto de la oración en tercera persona. Equivalente al caso dativo, por lo que admite el refuerzo “a sí mismo”.
  2. 2
    (se recíproco) Cuando el sujeto es plural o es múltiple, establece una referencia cruzada tal que todos los sujetos actúan de sujeto y objeto recíprocamente.
  3. 3
    (se no agentivo) En particular, uso del se reflexivo o se recíproco con fines no agentivos. NO admite el refuerzo “a sí mismo”.
  4. 4
    (se intransitivador) Unido a un verbo transitivo, da lugar a oraciones intransitivas pronominales desvinculando completamente al sujeto causador que estaba en la construcción transitiva.
  5. 5
    (se pasivo) Usado para formar la voz pasiva, similar al se intransitivador pero sin desvincular al agente causador.
  6. 6
    (se impersonal) Usado para formar oraciones sin sujeto gramatical.
  7. 7
    (se diacrítico) Convierte a un verbo en pronominal a secas, modificando también su contenido léxico.
  8. 8
    (se inherente) Acompaña a los verbos pronominales de forma obligatoria, sin que exista un equivalente no pronominal.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Spanish corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "se"?
"se" is spelled S-E. The IPA pronunciation is [se].
What does "se" mean?
As a pronoun, "se" means: (se reflexivo) Pronombre reflexivo anafórico que establece una correferencialidad con el sujeto de la oración en tercera persona. Equivalente al caso dativo, por lo que admite el refuerzo “a sí mis...
What words are commonly confused with "se"?
"se" is commonly confused with "su", "sí", "so". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "se"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "se" is [se]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "se" come from?
"se" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “se”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct Spanish spelling is S-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [se] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “su” - see the side-by-side comparison. se vs su
  • Browse more Spanish words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Spanish words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

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