quedarsevsquedasteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,363
“quedarse” frequency rank
#14,687
“quedaste” frequency rank
17050
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quedarse quedaste
Definition Permanecer o estar durante algún tiempo en un lugar. Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de quedar o de quedarse.

Where the eye mixes quedarse and quedaste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. quedarse and quedaste follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
quedarse
8 ch
quedaste

Visual trap between quedarse and quedaste

A purely visual mix-up. quedarse ([keˈð̞aɾse]) and quedaste ([keˈð̞ast̪e]) 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 17050, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quedarse is recorded at frequency rank #2,363, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈð̞aɾse]. quedaste is at rank #14,687, tagged as averb, pronounced [keˈð̞ast̪e].

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 17050, this pair ranks #273,736 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quedarse vs quedaste

Shared letters: adeqsu. Private to "quedarse": r. Private to "quedaste": t.

"quedarse" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV  ·  "quedaste" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quedarse ← qeudarse · qquedarse · qudearse · queadrse · quedarce · quedares · quedarrse · quedarsse
  • quedaste ← qeudaste · qquedaste · qudeaste · queadste · quedaset · quedasste · quedastte · quedatse

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quedarse" and "quedaste" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([keˈð̞aɾse] versus [keˈð̞ast̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "quedarse" vs "quedaste" - which ranks higher?
"quedarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,363 in our Spanish list, against #14,687 for "quedaste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "quedarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quedaste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #273,736 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quedarse" and "quedaste" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quedaste vs quédese". 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 #273,736 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