descargarvsdescargarseWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#4,780
“descargar” frequency rank
#33,535
“descargarse” frequency rank
38315
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature descargar descargarse
Definition Retirar o bajar la carga de un transporte. Descargar (uso pronominal de ...)

Where the eye mixes descargar and descargarse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. descargar runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVC) against descargarse's 11 (CVCCVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
descargar
11 ch
descargarse

Visual trap between descargar and descargarse

A purely visual mix-up. descargar ([d̪eskaɾˈɣ̞aɾ]) and descargarse ([d̪eskaɾˈɣ̞aɾse]) 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) - “descargar” sits inside “descargarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38315, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

descargar is recorded at frequency rank #4,780, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪eskaɾˈɣ̞aɾ]. descargarse is at rank #33,535, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪eskaɾˈɣ̞aɾse].

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 38315, this pair ranks #170,697 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of descargar vs descargarse

Shared letters: acdegrs. Private to "descargar": -. Private to "descargarse": -.

"descargar" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVC  ·  "descargarse" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • descargar ← ddescargar · decsargar · desacrgar · descagrar · descaragr · descargarr · descarggar · descargra
  • descargarse ← ddescargarse · decsargarse · desacrgarse · descagrarse · descaragrse · descargarce · descargares · descargarrse

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "descargar" and "descargarse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([d̪eskaɾˈɣ̞aɾ] versus [d̪eskaɾˈɣ̞aɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "descargar" vs "descargarse" - which ranks higher?
"descargar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,780 in our Spanish list, against #33,535 for "descargarse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "descargar" and "descargarse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "descargar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "descargarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #170,697 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "descargar" and "descargarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "descargada vs descargar". 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 #170,697 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