olvidarsevsolvidasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,436
“olvidarse” frequency rank
#13,528
“olvidas” frequency rank
25964
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature olvidarse olvidas
Definition Perder el recuerdo o la memoria de algo. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de olvidar o de olvidarse.

Where the eye mixes olvidarse and olvidas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. olvidarse runs 9 letters (VCCVCVCCV) against olvidas's 7 (VCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
olvidarse
7 ch
olvidas

Visual trap between olvidarse and olvidas

A purely visual mix-up. olvidarse ([olβ̞iˈð̞aɾse]) and olvidas ([olˈβ̞ið̞as]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25964, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

olvidarse is recorded at frequency rank #12,436, classified as averb, pronounced [olβ̞iˈð̞aɾse]. olvidas is at rank #13,528, tagged as averb, pronounced [olˈβ̞ið̞as].

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 25964, this pair ranks #233,979 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of olvidarse vs olvidas

Shared letters: adilosv. Private to "olvidarse": er. Private to "olvidas": -.

"olvidarse" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCCV  ·  "olvidas" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • olvidarse ← lovidarse · olbidarse · olivdarse · ollvidarse · olvdiarse · olviadrse · olvidarce · olvidares
  • olvidas ← lovidas · olbidas · olivdas · ollvidas · olvdias · olviads · olvidass · olviddas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "olvidarse" and "olvidas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([olβ̞iˈð̞aɾse] versus [olˈβ̞ið̞as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "olvidarse" or "olvidas"?
"olvidarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,436 in our Spanish list, against #13,528 for "olvidas". 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 "olvidarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "olvidas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #233,979 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "olvidarse" and "olvidas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "oídas vs olvidas". 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 #233,979 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