Which to use
“negar” and “negarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,531
- “negar” frequency rank
- #13,099
- “negarse” frequency rank
- 17630
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | negar | negarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Decir no, respondiendo a una pregunta. | No admitir uno al que va a buscarle a su casa, haciendo decir que está fuera. |
Where the eye mixes negar and negarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses negar with negarse
A purely visual mix-up. negar ([neˈɣ̞aɾ]) and negarse ([neˈɣ̞aɾse]) 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) - “negar” sits inside “negarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17630, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
negar is recorded at frequency rank #4,531, classified as averb, pronounced [neˈɣ̞aɾ]. negarse is at rank #13,099, tagged as averb, pronounced [neˈɣ̞aɾse].
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 17630, this pair ranks #271,349 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of negar vs negarse
Shared letters: aegnr. Private to "negar": -. Private to "negarse": s.
"negar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "negarse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "negar" for "negarse" ever safe?
Frequency check: "negar" vs "negarse" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "negar" and "negarse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "negar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "negarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #271,349 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "negar" and "negarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "negará vs negarse". 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 #271,349 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.