quedavsquejaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#437
“queda” frequency rank
#3,953
“queja” frequency rank
4390
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature queda queja
Definition Hora de la noche, señalada en algunos pueblos, especialmente las plazas cerradas, para que todos se recojan, lo cual se avisa con la campana. Manifestación de pena, dolor o sentimiento.

Where the eye mixes queda and queja

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
queda
5 ch
queja

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. queda ([ˈkeð̞a]) and queja ([ˈkexa]) 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 a single letter - d in “queda” becomes j in “queja”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4390, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

queda is recorded at frequency rank #437, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkeð̞a]. queja is at rank #3,953, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkexa].

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 4390, this pair ranks #316,212 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of queda vs queja

Shared letters: aequ. Private to "queda": d. Private to "queja": j.

"queda" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "queja" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quedaqeuda · qqueda · qudea · quead · quedda · uqeda
  • quejaqeuja · qqueja · queaj · quejja · qujea · uqeja

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "queda" and "queja" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkeð̞a] versus [ˈkexa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "queda" or "queja"?
"queda" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #437 in our Spanish list, against #3,953 for "queja". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list