fijarsevsfíjeseTell them apart

Which to use

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

#17,967
“fijarse” frequency rank
#44,215
“fíjese” frequency rank
62182
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fijarse fíjese
Definition Prestar atención a algo. Segunda persona del singular (usted) del imperativo afirmativo de fijarse (con el pronombre enclítico).

Where the eye mixes fijarse and fíjese

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fijarse runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against fíjese's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
fijarse
6 ch
fíjese

Look-alike desk: fijarse vs fíjese

A purely visual mix-up. fijarse ([fiˈxaɾse]) and fíjese ([ˈfixese]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fijarse is recorded at frequency rank #17,967, classified as averb, pronounced [fiˈxaɾse]. fíjese is at rank #44,215, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈfixese].

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 62182, this pair ranks #52,871 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fijarse vs fíjese

Shared letters: efjs. Private to "fijarse": air. Private to "fíjese": í.

"fijarse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "fíjese" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fijarse ← ffijarse · fiajrse · fijarce · fijares · fijarrse · fijarsse · fijasre · fijjarse

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fijarse" and "fíjese" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([fiˈxaɾse] versus [ˈfixese]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fijarse" or "fíjese"?
"fijarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,967 in our Spanish list, against #44,215 for "fíjese". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fijarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fíjese" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #52,871 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fijarse" and "fíjese" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fiarse vs fíjese". 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 #52,871 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