Which to use
“cruzar” and “cruzarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,233
- “cruzar” frequency rank
- #34,037
- “cruzarse” frequency rank
- 38270
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cruzar | cruzarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pasar por un sitio atravesándolo. | Tomar la cruz, alistándose en una cruzada o ingresando en una orden militar o instituto semejante. |
Where the eye mixes cruzar and cruzarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. cruzar runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against cruzarse's 8 (CCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between cruzar and cruzarse
A purely visual mix-up. cruzar ([kɾuˈsaɾ]) and cruzarse ([kɾuˈsaɾse]) 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) - “cruzar” sits inside “cruzarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38270, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cruzar is recorded at frequency rank #4,233, classified as averb, pronounced [kɾuˈsaɾ]. cruzarse is at rank #34,037, tagged as averb, pronounced [kɾuˈsaɾse].
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 38270, this pair ranks #170,929 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cruzar vs cruzarse
Shared letters: acruz. Private to "cruzar": -. Private to "cruzarse": es.
"cruzar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "cruzarse" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cruzar" and "cruzarse" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "cruzar" or "cruzarse" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cruzar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cruzarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #170,929 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cruzar" and "cruzarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cruzarse vs cruzas". 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 #170,929 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.