cortarlavscortarseConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#49,542
“cortarla” frequency rank
#27,547
“cortarse” frequency rank
77089
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cortarla cortarse
Definition Desistir. Hacerse un corte¹₄ en el propio cuerpo.

Where the eye mixes cortarla and cortarse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. cortarla and cortarse follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
cortarla
8 ch
cortarse

Visual trap between cortarla and cortarse

A purely visual mix-up. cortarla ([koɾˈt̪aɾla]) and cortarse ([koɾˈt̪aɾse]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 77089, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cortarla is recorded at frequency rank #49,542, classified as averb, pronounced [koɾˈt̪aɾla]. cortarse is at rank #27,547, tagged as averb, pronounced [koɾˈt̪aɾse].

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 77089, this pair ranks #16,606 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cortarla vs cortarse

Shared letters: acort. Private to "cortarla": l. Private to "cortarse": es.

"cortarla" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "cortarse" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cortarla ← ccortarla · coratrla · corrtarla · cortalra · cortaral · cortarlla · cortarrla · cortrala
  • cortarse ← ccortarse · coratrse · corrtarse · cortarce · cortares · cortarrse · cortarsse · cortasre

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cortarla" for "cortarse" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([koɾˈt̪aɾla] versus [koɾˈt̪aɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "cortarla" vs "cortarse" - which ranks higher?
"cortarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,547 in our Spanish list, against #49,542 for "cortarla". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "cortarla" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cortarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #16,606 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cortarla" and "cortarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cortaba vs cortarla". 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 #16,606 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