Which to use
“fijar” and “fijarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,802
- “fijar” frequency rank
- #17,967
- “fijarse” frequency rank
- 26769
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fijar | fijarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Poner una cosa de tal forma que no se mueva. | Prestar atención a algo. |
Where the eye mixes fijar and fijarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fijar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against fijarse's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fijar and fijarse
A purely visual mix-up. fijar ([fiˈxaɾ]) and fijarse ([fiˈxaɾse]) 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) - “fijar” sits inside “fijarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fijar is recorded at frequency rank #8,802, classified as averb, pronounced [fiˈxaɾ]. fijarse is at rank #17,967, tagged as averb, pronounced [fiˈxaɾse].
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 26769, this pair ranks #230,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fijar vs fijarse
Shared letters: afijr. Private to "fijar": -. Private to "fijarse": es.
"fijar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "fijarse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fijar" and "fijarse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "fijar" vs "fijarse" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fijar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fijarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #230,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fijar" and "fijarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fijará vs fijarse". 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 #230,044 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.