quedarevsquedarseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#41,572
“quedare” frequency rank
#2,363
“quedarse” frequency rank
43935
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quedare quedarse
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del futuro de subjuntivo de quedar o de quedarse. Permanecer o estar durante algún tiempo en un lugar.

Where the eye mixes quedare and quedarse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. quedare runs 7 letters (CVVCVCV) against quedarse's 8 (CVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
quedare
8 ch
quedarse

Visual trap between quedare and quedarse

A purely visual mix-up. quedare ([keˈð̞aɾe]) and quedarse ([keˈð̞aɾse]) 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 43935, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quedare is recorded at frequency rank #41,572, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈð̞aɾe]. quedarse is at rank #2,363, tagged as averb, pronounced [keˈð̞aɾse].

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 43935, this pair ranks #139,832 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quedare vs quedarse

Shared letters: adeqru. Private to "quedare": -. Private to "quedarse": s.

"quedare" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV  ·  "quedarse" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quedare ← qeudare · qquedare · qudeare · queadre · quedaer · quedarre · queddare · quedrae
  • quedarse ← qeudarse · qquedarse · qudearse · queadrse · quedarce · quedares · quedarrse · quedarsse

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "quedare" for "quedarse" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([keˈð̞aɾe] versus [keˈð̞aɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quedare" or "quedarse"?
"quedarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,363 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.

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 "quedare" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quedarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #139,832 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quedare" and "quedarse" 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 #139,832 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