Which to use
“controlar” and “controlarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,202
- “controlar” frequency rank
- #38,603
- “controlarse” frequency rank
- 40805
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | controlar | controlarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tener el control sobre algo o alguien, ejercer el dominio sobre algo o alguien. | Mantener el dominio sobre sí mismo, no dejarse llevar por las emociones o sentimientos. |
Where the eye mixes controlar and controlarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between controlar and controlarse
A purely visual mix-up. controlar ([kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaɾ]) and controlarse ([kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaɾse]) 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) - “controlar” sits inside “controlarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
controlar is recorded at frequency rank #2,202, classified as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaɾ]. controlarse is at rank #38,603, tagged as averb, pronounced [kõn̪t̪ɾoˈlaɾse].
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 40805, this pair ranks #157,121 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of controlar vs controlarse
Shared letters: aclnort. Private to "controlar": -. Private to "controlarse": es.
"controlar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCCVCVC · "controlarse" · 11 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- controlar ← ccontrolar · cnotrolar · conntrolar · conrtolar · contorlar · contrloar · controalr · controlarr
- controlarse ← ccontrolarse · cnotrolarse · conntrolarse · conrtolarse · contorlarse · contrloarse · controalrse · controlarce
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "controlar" and "controlarse" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "controlar" or "controlarse" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "controlar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "controlarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #157,121 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "controlar" and "controlarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "controlar vs controlo". 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 #157,121 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.