Which to use
“acabar” and “acabarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,004
- “acabar” frequency rank
- #39,549
- “acabarse” frequency rank
- 41553
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | acabar | acabarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Llevar algo a su fin. | Acabar (uso pronominal de ...) |
Where the eye mixes acabar and acabarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. acabar runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against acabarse's 8 (VCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between acabar and acabarse
A purely visual mix-up. acabar ([akaˈβ̞aɾ]) and acabarse ([akaˈβ̞aɾse]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “acabar” sits inside “acabarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
acabar is recorded at frequency rank #2,004, classified as averb, pronounced [akaˈβ̞aɾ]. acabarse is at rank #39,549, tagged as averb, pronounced [akaˈβ̞aɾse].
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 41553, this pair ranks #153,046 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of acabar vs acabarse
Shared letters: abcr. Private to "acabar": -. Private to "acabarse": es.
"acabar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "acabarse" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "acabar" for "acabarse" ever safe?
Which is more common, "acabar" or "acabarse"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "acabar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "acabarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #153,046 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "acabar" and "acabarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "acabarse vs acabase". 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 #153,046 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.