Which to use
“olvidar” and “olvidarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,516
- “olvidar” frequency rank
- #12,436
- “olvidarse” frequency rank
- 14952
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | olvidar | olvidarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Perder el recuerdo o la memoria de algo. | Perder el recuerdo o la memoria de algo. |
Where the eye mixes olvidar and olvidarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. olvidar runs 7 letters (VCCVCVC) against olvidarse's 9 (VCCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between olvidar and olvidarse
A purely visual mix-up. olvidar ([olβ̞iˈð̞aɾ]) and olvidarse ([olβ̞iˈð̞aɾse]) 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) - “olvidar” sits inside “olvidarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14952, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
olvidar is recorded at frequency rank #2,516, classified as averb, pronounced [olβ̞iˈð̞aɾ]. olvidarse is at rank #12,436, tagged as averb, pronounced [olβ̞iˈð̞aɾse].
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 14952, this pair ranks #282,079 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of olvidar vs olvidarse
Shared letters: adilorv. Private to "olvidar": -. Private to "olvidarse": es.
"olvidar" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC · "olvidarse" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "olvidar" and "olvidarse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "olvidar" or "olvidarse" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "olvidar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "olvidarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #282,079 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "olvidar" and "olvidarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "olvidarse vs olvídense". 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 #282,079 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.