Which to use
“olvidarse” and “olvídense” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,436
- “olvidarse” frequency rank
- #45,481
- “olvídense” frequency rank
- 57917
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | olvidarse | olvídense |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Perder el recuerdo o la memoria de algo. | Segunda persona del plural (ustedes) del imperativo afirmativo de olvidarse (con el pronombre enclítico). |
Where the eye mixes olvidarse and olvídense
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. olvidarse and olvídense follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between olvidarse and olvídense
A purely visual mix-up. olvidarse ([olβ̞iˈð̞aɾse]) and olvídense ([olˈβ̞ið̞ẽnse]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57917, 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]. olvídense is at rank #45,481, tagged as averb, pronounced [olˈβ̞ið̞ẽnse].
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 57917, this pair ranks #68,536 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of olvidarse vs olvídense
Shared letters: delosv. Private to "olvidarse": air. Private to "olvídense": ní.
"olvidarse" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCCV · "olvídense" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- olvidarse ← lovidarse · olbidarse · olivdarse · ollvidarse · olvdiarse · olviadrse · olvidarce · olvidares
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "olvidarse" for "olvídense" ever safe?
Which is more common, "olvidarse" or "olvídense"?
Useful next steps
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 "olvídense" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,536 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "olvidarse" and "olvídense" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "olvidéis 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 #68,536 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.