quedóvsquejóWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,101
“quedó” frequency rank
#20,788
“quejó” frequency rank
21889
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quedó quejó
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de quedar o de quedarse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de quejar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quedó and quejó apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
quedó
5 ch
quejó

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. quedó ([keˈð̞o]) and quejó ([keˈxo]) 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 “quedó” becomes j in “quejó”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21889, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quedó is recorded at frequency rank #1,101, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈð̞o]. quejó is at rank #20,788, tagged as averb, pronounced [keˈxo].

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 21889, this pair ranks #252,871 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quedó vs quejó

Shared letters: equó. Private to "quedó": d. Private to "quejó": j.

"quedó" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "quejó" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Frequency comparison

quedó#1,101
quejó#20,788

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quedó" and "quejó" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([keˈð̞o] versus [keˈxo]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quedó" or "quejó"?
"quedó" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,101 in our Spanish list, against #20,788 for "quejó". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering quedó vs quejó

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quedó” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list