Which to use
“esperar” and “esperarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #823
- “esperar” frequency rank
- #15,851
- “esperarse” frequency rank
- 16674
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | esperar | esperarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Detener el movimiento o la acción hasta la llegada u ocurrencia de algo, hacer tiempo. | Ser esperado. |
Where the eye mixes esperar and esperarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses esperar with esperarse
A purely visual mix-up. esperar ([espeˈɾaɾ]) and esperarse ([espeˈɾaɾse]) 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) - “esperar” sits inside “esperarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16674, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
esperar is recorded at frequency rank #823, classified as averb, pronounced [espeˈɾaɾ]. esperarse is at rank #15,851, tagged as averb, pronounced [espeˈɾaɾse].
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 16674, this pair ranks #275,208 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of esperar vs esperarse
Shared letters: aeprs. Private to "esperar": -. Private to "esperarse": -.
"esperar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "esperarse" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "esperar" and "esperarse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "esperar" or "esperarse"?
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 "esperar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "esperarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #275,208 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "esperar" and "esperarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esperable vs esperarse". 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 #275,208 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.