quedevsquesoTell them apart

Quick tell: quede is a verb, queso is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“quede” is a verb and “queso” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,953
“quede” frequency rank
#2,948
“queso” frequency rank
4901
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quede queso
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de quedar o de quedarse. Alimento obtenido al separar la parte sólida de la leche mediante la adición de cuajo, prensando o cociendo luego la pasta resultante y madurándola en un grado variable.

Where the eye mixes quede and queso

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
quede
5 ch
queso

Visual trap between quede and queso

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quede is [ˈkeð̞e] while queso is [ˈkeso]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4901, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quede is recorded at frequency rank #1,953, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkeð̞e]. queso is at rank #2,948, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkeso].

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 4901, this pair ranks #314,970 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quede vs queso

Shared letters: equ. Private to "quede": d. Private to "queso": os.

"quede" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "queso" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quedeqeude · qquede · qudee · quedde · queed · uqede
  • quesoqeuso · qqueso · queos · quesso · quseo · uqeso

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "quede" and "queso" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "quede" is a verb and "queso" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "quede" vs "queso" - which ranks higher?
"quede" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,953 in our Spanish list, against #2,948 for "queso". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "quede" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "queso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #314,970 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quede" and "queso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quede 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 #314,970 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