Which to use
“queden” and “quemen” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,582
- “queden” frequency rank
- #28,898
- “quemen” frequency rank
- 35480
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | queden | quemen |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de quedar o de quedarse. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de quemar o de quemarse. |
Where the eye mixes queden and quemen
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. queden and quemen follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses queden with quemen
A purely visual mix-up. queden ([ˈkeð̞ẽn]) and quemen ([ˈkemẽn]) 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 a single letter - d in “queden” becomes m in “quemen”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35480, 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]. quemen is at rank #28,898, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkemẽn].
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 35480, this pair ranks #185,868 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of queden vs quemen
Shared letters: enqu. Private to "queden": d. Private to "quemen": m.
"queden" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "quemen" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "queden" for "quemen" ever safe?
Which is more common, "queden" or "quemen"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "queden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quemen" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #185,868 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "queden" and "quemen" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quejen vs quemen". 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 #185,868 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.