quejarvsquejeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#18,952
“quejar” frequency rank
#35,214
“queje” frequency rank
54166
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quejar queje
Definition Expresar una persona un dolor físico o moral con palabras o gritos Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de quejar o de quejarse.

Where the eye mixes quejar and queje

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

6 ch
quejar
5 ch
queje

Why the eye confuses quejar with queje

A purely visual mix-up. quejar ([keˈxaɾ]) and queje ([ˈkexe]) 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 54166, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quejar is recorded at frequency rank #18,952, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈxaɾ]. queje is at rank #35,214, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkexe].

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 54166, this pair ranks #84,536 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quejar vs queje

Shared letters: ejqu. Private to "quejar": ar. Private to "queje": -.

"quejar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC  ·  "queje" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quejar ← qeujar · qquejar · queajr · quejarr · quejjar · quejra · qujear · uqejar
  • queje ← qeuje · qqueje · queej · quejje · qujee · uqeje

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "quejar" and "queje" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([keˈxaɾ] versus [ˈkexe]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quejar" or "queje"?
"quejar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,952 in our Spanish list, against #35,214 for "queje". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "quejar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "queje" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #84,536 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quejar" and "queje" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "queje vs Quero". 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 #84,536 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