Which to use
“alegrar” and “alegrarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,486
- “alegrar” frequency rank
- #36,912
- “alegrarse” frequency rank
- 69398
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alegrar | alegrarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Causar alegría. | Felicitarse, congratularse, etc. por algo bueno. |
Where the eye mixes alegrar and alegrarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. alegrar runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against alegrarse's 9 (VCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: alegrar vs alegrarse
A purely visual mix-up. alegrar ([aleˈɣ̞ɾaɾ]) and alegrarse ([aleˈɣ̞ɾaɾse]) 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) - “alegrar” sits inside “alegrarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69398, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alegrar is recorded at frequency rank #32,486, classified as averb, pronounced [aleˈɣ̞ɾaɾ]. alegrarse is at rank #36,912, tagged as averb, pronounced [aleˈɣ̞ɾaɾse].
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 69398, this pair ranks #32,077 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of alegrar vs alegrarse
Shared letters: aeglr. Private to "alegrar": -. Private to "alegrarse": s.
"alegrar" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "alegrarse" · 9 letters · shape VCVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "alegrar" and "alegrarse" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "alegrar" or "alegrarse"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "alegrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alegrarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,077 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alegrar" and "alegrarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alegraría vs alegrarse". 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 #32,077 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.