Which to use
“despedir” and “despedirse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,313
- “despedir” frequency rank
- #17,404
- “despedirse” frequency rank
- 27717
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | despedir | despedirse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Acompañar o decir adiós a alguien que se marcha. | Decir adiós; hacer una expresión afectuosa o educada al separarse de alguien. |
Where the eye mixes despedir and despedirse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. despedir runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against despedirse's 10 (CVCCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses despedir with despedirse
A purely visual mix-up. despedir ([d̪espeˈð̞iɾ]) and despedirse ([d̪espeˈð̞iɾse]) 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) - “despedir” sits inside “despedirse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27717, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
despedir is recorded at frequency rank #10,313, classified as averb, pronounced [d̪espeˈð̞iɾ]. despedirse is at rank #17,404, tagged as averb, pronounced [d̪espeˈð̞iɾse].
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 27717, this pair ranks #225,468 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of despedir vs despedirse
Shared letters: deiprs. Private to "despedir": -. Private to "despedirse": -.
"despedir" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "despedirse" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- despedir ← ddespedir · depsedir · desepdir · despdeir · despeddir · despedirr · despedri · despeidr
- despedirse ← ddespedirse · depsedirse · desepdirse · despdeirse · despeddirse · despedirce · despedires · despedirrse
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "despedir" and "despedirse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "despedir" vs "despedirse" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "despedir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "despedirse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,468 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "despedir" and "despedirse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "despedí vs despedir". 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 #225,468 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.