quedesvsquienesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: quedes is a verb, quienes is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“quedes” is a verb and “quienes” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,701
“quedes” frequency rank
#472
“quienes” frequency rank
9173
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quedes quienes
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de quedar o de quedarse. Forma del plural de quien.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quedes and quienes apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
quedes
7 ch
quienes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quedes is [ˈkeð̞es] while quienes is [ˈkjenes]. 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 9173, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quedes is recorded at frequency rank #8,701, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈkeð̞es]. quienes is at rank #472, tagged as apron, pronounced [ˈkjenes].

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 9173, this pair ranks #302,732 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quedes vs quienes

Shared letters: eqsu. Private to "quedes": d. Private to "quienes": in.

"quedes" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "quienes" · 7 letters · shape CVVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quedesqeudes · qquedes · qudees · queddes · quedess · quedse · queeds · uqedes
  • quienesqiuenes · qquienes · queines · quieens · quieness · quiennes · quiense · quinees

Frequency comparison

quedes#8,701
quienes#472

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quedes" and "quienes" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "quedes" is a verb and "quienes" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "quedes" or "quienes"?
"quienes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #472 in our Spanish list, against #8,701 for "quedes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering quedes vs quienes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “quedes”; for a pronoun, it's “quienes”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quedes” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list