Which to use
“queden” is a verb and “quién” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,582
- “queden” frequency rank
- #355
- “quién” frequency rank
- 6937
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | queden | quién |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de quedar o de quedarse. | Qué persona. |
Where the eye mixes queden and quién
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. queden runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against quién's 5 (CVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between queden and quién
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: queden is [ˈkeð̞ẽn] while quién is [ˈkjẽn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6937, 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]. quién is at rank #355, tagged as apron, pronounced [ˈkjẽn].
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 6937, this pair ranks #309,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of queden vs quién
Shared letters: nqu. Private to "queden": de. Private to "quién": ié.
"queden" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "quién" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- queden ← qeuden · qqueden · qudeen · quedden · quedenn · quedne · queedn · uqeden
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "queden" and "quién" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "queden" or "quién" show up more?
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 "queden" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quién" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #309,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "queden" and "quién" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "queden 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 #309,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.