se
[se]
The verdict
“se” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #11) as a pronoun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.
- #11
- frequency rank, Spanish
- 4,169
- “S” headwords
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 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...
Corpus desk
Index ES-se · se · Spanish
se · rank #11 · 0 variants · 20 confusables
- FREQ-CORE #11
- LEN-SHORT 2 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 4,169
- PHOTO-FINISH un
Nearest frequency peer: un (-1 rank slots)
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “se”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- los
los
99,993 corpus weight
- no
no
99,992 corpus weight
- un
un
99,991 corpus weight
- se
se
99,990 corpus weight
- por
por
99,989 corpus weight
- del
del
99,987 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “se” sits against the nearest ranked Spanish headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | se |
| Language | Spanish |
| Part of speech | Pronoun |
| IPA | [se] |
| Letters | 2 |
| Frequency rank | #11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “se” sits in Spanish frequency
Easy to mix with look-alikes
The spelling risk for se is neighbouring look-alikes ("su", "sí", …), not just typos; it is apronoun pronounced [se]. Frequency #11 among 4,169 “S” headwords. 8 recorded senses keep meaning in play.
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(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(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(se no agentivo) En particular, uso del se reflexivo o se recíproco con fines no agentivos. NO admite el refuerzo “a sí mismo”.
- 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(se pasivo) Usado para formar la voz pasiva, similar al se intransitivador pero sin desvincular al agente causador.
- 6(se impersonal) Usado para formar oraciones sin sujeto gramatical.
- 7(se diacrítico) Convierte a un verbo en pronominal a secas, modificando también su contenido léxico.
- 8(se inherente) Acompaña a los verbos pronominales de forma obligatoria, sin que exista un equivalente no pronominal.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how se appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Leo se afeitó (a sí mismo).
Francisco y Julia se miran. → Francisco mira a Julia Y Julia mira a Francisco.
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.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do next
You've looked up "se". Here's where to go from here.
- "se" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "su". View pair
- Usage frequency rank #11 among Spanish headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more Spanish words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
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.