quejabavsquemabaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,456
“quejaba” frequency rank
#38,331
“quemaba” frequency rank
59787
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quejaba quemaba
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quejar o de quejarse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de quemar o de quemarse.

Where the eye mixes quejaba and quemaba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
quejaba
7 ch
quemaba

Why the eye confuses quejaba with quemaba

A purely visual mix-up. quejaba ([keˈxaβ̞a]) and quemaba ([keˈmaβ̞a]) 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 - j in “quejaba” becomes m in “quemaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59787, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quejaba is recorded at frequency rank #21,456, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈxaβ̞a]. quemaba is at rank #38,331, tagged as averb, pronounced [keˈmaβ̞a].

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 59787, this pair ranks #61,339 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of quejaba vs quemaba

Shared letters: abequ. Private to "quejaba": j. Private to "quemaba": m.

"quejaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV  ·  "quemaba" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quejabaqeujaba · qquejaba · queajba · quejaab · quejabba · quejava · quejbaa · quejjaba
  • quemabaqeumaba · qquemaba · queamba · quemaab · quemabba · quemava · quembaa · quemmaba

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quejaba" and "quemaba" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([keˈxaβ̞a] versus [keˈmaβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quejaba" or "quemaba"?
"quejaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,456 in our Spanish list, against #38,331 for "quemaba". 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 "quejaba" and "quemaba" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "quejaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quemaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #61,339 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quejaba" and "quemaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quemaba vs quemaban". 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 #61,339 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