Which to use
“quebrar” and “quejar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,364
- “quebrar” frequency rank
- #18,952
- “quejar” frequency rank
- 37316
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quebrar | quejar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Romper una cosa. | Expresar una persona un dolor físico o moral con palabras o gritos |
Where the eye mixes quebrar and quejar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. quebrar runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against quejar's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: quebrar vs quejar
A purely visual mix-up. quebrar ([keˈβ̞ɾaɾ]) and quejar ([keˈxaɾ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37316, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
quebrar is recorded at frequency rank #18,364, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈβ̞ɾaɾ]. quejar is at rank #18,952, tagged as averb, pronounced [keˈxaɾ].
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 37316, this pair ranks #175,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of quebrar vs quejar
Shared letters: aeqru. Private to "quebrar": b. Private to "quejar": j.
"quebrar" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "quejar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "quebrar" and "quejar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "quebrar" or "quejar"?
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 "quebrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quejar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #175,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "quebrar" and "quejar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quebrar vs quiebras". 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 #175,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.