quedarsevsquédateWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#2,363
“quedarse” frequency rank
#5,554
“quédate” frequency rank
7917
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quedarse quédate
Definition Permanecer o estar durante algún tiempo en un lugar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del imperativo afirmativo de quedarse (con el pronombre «te» enclítico).

Where the eye mixes quedarse and quédate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. quedarse runs 8 letters (CVVCVCCV) against quédate's 7 (CVVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
quedarse
7 ch
quédate

Visual trap between quedarse and quédate

A purely visual mix-up. quedarse ([keˈð̞aɾse]) and quédate ([ˈkeð̞at̪e]) 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 7917, 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]. quédate is at rank #5,554, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkeð̞at̪e].

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 7917, this pair ranks #306,544 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quedarse vs quédate

Shared letters: adequ. Private to "quedarse": rs. Private to "quédate": té.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quedarse ← qeudarse · qquedarse · qudearse · queadrse · quedarce · quedares · quedarrse · quedarsse

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "quedarse" for "quédate" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([keˈð̞aɾse] versus [ˈkeð̞at̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "quedarse" vs "quédate" - which ranks higher?
"quedarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,363 in our Spanish list, against #5,554 for "quédate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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 "quédate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #306,544 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quedarse" and "quédate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quedáis vs quédate". 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 #306,544 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