quedarsevsquédenseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,363
“quedarse” frequency rank
#39,950
“quédense” frequency rank
42313
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quedarse quédense
Definition Permanecer o estar durante algún tiempo en un lugar. Segunda persona del plural (ustedes) del imperativo afirmativo de quedarse (con el pronombre «se» enclítico).

Where the eye mixes quedarse and quédense

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. quedarse and quédense 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
quédense

Why the eye confuses quedarse with quédense

A purely visual mix-up. quedarse ([keˈð̞aɾse]) and quédense ([ˈkeð̞ẽnse]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42313, 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]. quédense is at rank #39,950, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkeð̞ẽnse].

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 42313, this pair ranks #148,922 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quedarse vs quédense

Shared letters: deqsu. Private to "quedarse": ar. Private to "quédense": né.

"quedarse" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV  ·  "quédense" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "quedarse" for "quédense" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([keˈð̞aɾse] versus [ˈkeð̞ẽnse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "quedarse" vs "quédense" - which ranks higher?
"quedarse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,363 in our Spanish list, against #39,950 for "quédense". 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 "quedarse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quédense" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #148,922 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quedarse" and "quédense" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quédense 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 #148,922 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