alejarsevsaléjateWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#10,096
“alejarse” frequency rank
#30,329
“aléjate” frequency rank
40425
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alejarse aléjate
Definition Tomar distancia, ponerse lejos o más lejos. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del imperativo afirmativo de alejarse (con el pronombre enclítico).

Where the eye mixes alejarse and aléjate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. alejarse runs 8 letters (VCVCVCCV) against aléjate's 7 (VCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
alejarse
7 ch
aléjate

Why the eye confuses alejarse with aléjate

A purely visual mix-up. alejarse ([aleˈxaɾse]) and aléjate ([aˈlexat̪e]) 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 40425, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alejarse is recorded at frequency rank #10,096, classified as averb, pronounced [aleˈxaɾse]. aléjate is at rank #30,329, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈlexat̪e].

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 40425, this pair ranks #159,142 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alejarse vs aléjate

Shared letters: aejl. Private to "alejarse": rs. Private to "aléjate": té.

"alejarse" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCV  ·  "aléjate" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alejarse ← aeljarse · aleajrse · alejarce · alejares · alejarrse · alejarsse · alejasre · alejjarse

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alejarse" and "aléjate" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aleˈxaɾse] versus [aˈlexat̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alejarse" or "aléjate"?
"alejarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,096 in our Spanish list, against #30,329 for "aléjate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "alejarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aléjate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #159,142 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "alejarse" and "aléjate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alejaba vs aléjate". 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 #159,142 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