quedenvsquemeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,582
“queden” frequency rank
#22,163
“queme” frequency rank
28745
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature queden queme
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de quedar o de quedarse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de quemar o de quemarse.

Where the eye mixes queden and queme

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. queden runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against queme's 5 (CVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
queden
5 ch
queme

Visual trap between queden and queme

A purely visual mix-up. queden ([ˈkeð̞ẽn]) and queme ([ˈkeme]) 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 28745, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

queden is recorded at frequency rank #6,582, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkeð̞ẽn]. queme is at rank #22,163, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkeme].

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 28745, this pair ranks #220,467 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of queden vs queme

Shared letters: equ. Private to "queden": dn. Private to "queme": m.

"queden" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "queme" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • queden ← qeuden · qqueden · qudeen · quedden · quedenn · quedne · queedn · uqeden
  • queme ← qeume · qqueme · queem · quemme · qumee · uqeme

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "queden" and "queme" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkeð̞ẽn] versus [ˈkeme]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "queden" vs "queme" - which ranks higher?
"queden" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,582 in our Spanish list, against #22,163 for "queme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "queden" and "queme" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "queden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "queme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #220,467 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "queden" and "queme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "queme vs Quim". 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 #220,467 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