atribuirvsatribuirseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,567
“atribuir” frequency rank
#38,511
“atribuirse” frequency rank
60078
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature atribuir atribuirse
Definition Aplicar o asignar una función, cargo o distinción. Dar por propios méritos y logros ajenos.

Where the eye mixes atribuir and atribuirse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. atribuir runs 8 letters (VCCVCVVC) against atribuirse's 10 (VCCVCVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
atribuir
10 ch
atribuirse

Visual trap between atribuir and atribuirse

A purely visual mix-up. atribuir ([at̪ɾiˈβ̞wiɾ]) and atribuirse ([at̪ɾiˈβ̞wiɾse]) 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) - “atribuir” sits inside “atribuirse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60078, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

atribuir is recorded at frequency rank #21,567, classified as averb, pronounced [at̪ɾiˈβ̞wiɾ]. atribuirse is at rank #38,511, tagged as averb, pronounced [at̪ɾiˈβ̞wiɾse].

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 60078, this pair ranks #60,223 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of atribuir vs atribuirse

Shared letters: abirtu. Private to "atribuir": -. Private to "atribuirse": es.

"atribuir" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC  ·  "atribuirse" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • atribuir ← artibuir · atirbuir · atrbiuir · atribbuir · atribiur · atribuirr · atriburi · atriubir
  • atribuirse ← artibuirse · atirbuirse · atrbiuirse · atribbuirse · atribiurse · atribuirce · atribuires · atribuirrse

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "atribuir" and "atribuirse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([at̪ɾiˈβ̞wiɾ] versus [at̪ɾiˈβ̞wiɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "atribuir" vs "atribuirse" - which ranks higher?
"atribuir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,567 in our Spanish list, against #38,511 for "atribuirse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "atribuir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "atribuirse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #60,223 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "atribuir" and "atribuirse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "atribuía vs atribuir". 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 #60,223 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