Which to use
“jugar” and “jugarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #790
- “jugar” frequency rank
- #33,187
- “jugarse” frequency rank
- 33977
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | jugar | jugarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hacer algo con el alegría y con el solo fin de divertirse o entretenerse. | Seguir un curso de acción en el que hay gran riesgo, especialmente de la integridad física. |
Where the eye mixes jugar and jugarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. jugar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against jugarse's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between jugar and jugarse
A purely visual mix-up. jugar ([xuˈɣ̞aɾ]) and jugarse ([xuˈɣ̞aɾse]) 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) - “jugar” sits inside “jugarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33977, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
jugar is recorded at frequency rank #790, classified as averb, pronounced [xuˈɣ̞aɾ]. jugarse is at rank #33,187, tagged as averb, pronounced [xuˈɣ̞aɾse].
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 33977, this pair ranks #193,859 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of jugar vs jugarse
Shared letters: agjru. Private to "jugar": -. Private to "jugarse": es.
"jugar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "jugarse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "jugar" and "jugarse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "jugar" or "jugarse"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "jugar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "jugarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #193,859 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "jugar" and "jugarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "jugarse vs jugaste". 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 #193,859 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.