preguntarsevspreguntasteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#12,676
“preguntarse” frequency rank
#25,770
“preguntaste” frequency rank
38446
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preguntarse preguntaste
Definition Preguntar (uso pronominal de ...) Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de preguntar.

Where the eye mixes preguntarse and preguntaste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence. preguntarse and preguntaste follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

11 ch
preguntarse
11 ch
preguntaste

Why the eye confuses preguntarse with preguntaste

A purely visual mix-up. preguntarse ([pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪aɾse]) and preguntaste ([pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪ast̪e]) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38446, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

preguntarse is recorded at frequency rank #12,676, classified as averb, pronounced [pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪aɾse]. preguntaste is at rank #25,770, tagged as averb, pronounced [pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪ast̪e].

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 38446, this pair ranks #169,964 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of preguntarse vs preguntaste

Shared letters: aegnprstu. Private to "preguntarse": -. Private to "preguntaste": -.

"preguntarse" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVCCVCCV  ·  "preguntaste" · 11 letters · shape CCVCVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • preguntarse ← perguntarse · ppreguntarse · pregguntarse · pregnutarse · pregunatrse · pregunntarse · preguntarce · preguntares
  • preguntaste ← perguntaste · ppreguntaste · pregguntaste · pregnutaste · pregunatste · pregunntaste · preguntaset · preguntasste

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "preguntarse" and "preguntaste" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪aɾse] versus [pɾeɣ̞ũn̪ˈt̪ast̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "preguntarse" or "preguntaste"?
"preguntarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,676 in our Spanish list, against #25,770 for "preguntaste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "preguntarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "preguntaste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #169,964 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "preguntarse" and "preguntaste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preguntarán vs preguntarse". 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 #169,964 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