Which to use
“pegar” and “pegarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,442
- “pegar” frequency rank
- #35,673
- “pegarse” frequency rank
- 42115
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pegar | pegarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hacer que una cosa quede adherida a otra. | Pegar (uso pronominal de ...) |
Where the eye mixes pegar and pegarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. pegar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against pegarse's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses pegar with pegarse
A purely visual mix-up. pegar ([peˈɣ̞aɾ]) and pegarse ([peˈɣ̞aɾse]) 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) - “pegar” sits inside “pegarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pegar is recorded at frequency rank #6,442, classified as averb, pronounced [peˈɣ̞aɾ]. pegarse is at rank #35,673, tagged as averb, pronounced [peˈɣ̞aɾse].
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 42115, this pair ranks #150,010 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pegar vs pegarse
Shared letters: aegpr. Private to "pegar": -. Private to "pegarse": s.
"pegar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "pegarse" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pegar" and "pegarse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "pegar" or "pegarse" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pegar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pegarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #150,010 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pegar" and "pegarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pegarse vs pegaste". 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 #150,010 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.