quejavsquemasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#3,953
“queja” frequency rank
#31,077
“quemas” frequency rank
35030
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature queja quemas
Definition Manifestación de pena, dolor o sentimiento. Forma del plural de quema.

Where the eye mixes queja and quemas

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

5 ch
queja
6 ch
quemas

Why the eye confuses queja with quemas

A purely visual mix-up. queja ([ˈkexa]) and quemas ([ˈkemas]) 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 35030, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

queja is recorded at frequency rank #3,953, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkexa]. quemas is at rank #31,077, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkemas].

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 35030, this pair ranks #188,235 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of queja vs quemas

Shared letters: aequ. Private to "queja": j. Private to "quemas": ms.

"queja" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "quemas" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • queja ← qeuja · qqueja · queaj · quejja · qujea · uqeja
  • quemas ← qeumas · qquemas · queams · quemass · quemmas · quemsa · qumeas · uqemas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "queja" and "quemas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈkexa] versus [ˈkemas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "queja" vs "quemas" - which ranks higher?
"queja" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,953 in our Spanish list, against #31,077 for "quemas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "queja" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quemas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #188,235 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "queja" and "quemas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quedáis vs quemas". 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 #188,235 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