quedabavsquedareConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#4,106
“quedaba” frequency rank
#41,572
“quedare” frequency rank
45678
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quedaba quedare
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quedar o de quedarse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del futuro de subjuntivo de quedar o de quedarse.

Where the eye mixes quedaba and quedare

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. quedaba and quedare follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
quedaba
7 ch
quedare

Look-alike desk: quedaba vs quedare

A purely visual mix-up. quedaba ([keˈð̞aβ̞a]) and quedare ([keˈð̞aɾe]) 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 45678, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quedaba is recorded at frequency rank #4,106, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈð̞aβ̞a]. quedare is at rank #41,572, tagged as averb, pronounced [keˈð̞aɾe].

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 45678, this pair ranks #130,053 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quedaba vs quedare

Shared letters: adequ. Private to "quedaba": b. Private to "quedare": r.

"quedaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV  ·  "quedare" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quedaba ← qeudaba · qquedaba · qudeaba · queadba · quedaab · quedabba · quedava · quedbaa
  • quedare ← qeudare · qquedare · qudeare · queadre · quedaer · quedarre · queddare · quedrae

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "quedaba" for "quedare" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([keˈð̞aβ̞a] versus [keˈð̞aɾe]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "quedaba" or "quedare" show up more?
"quedaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,106 in our Spanish list, against #41,572 for "quedare". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "quedaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quedare" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #130,053 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quedaba" and "quedare" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quedáis vs quedare". 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 #130,053 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