quemavsqueríaConfusable pair

Quick tell: quema is a noun, quería is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“quema” is a noun and “quería” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,348
“quema” frequency rank
#777
“quería” frequency rank
7125
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quema quería
Definition Acción o efecto de quemar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de querer.

Where the eye mixes quema and quería

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
quema
6 ch
quería

Visual trap between quema and quería

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quema is [ˈkema] while quería is [keˈɾia]. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7125, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quema is recorded at frequency rank #6,348, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈkema]. quería is at rank #777, tagged as averb, pronounced [keˈɾia].

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 7125, this pair ranks #308,855 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quema vs quería

Shared letters: aequ. Private to "quema": m. Private to "quería": .

"quema" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "quería" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quemaqeuma · qquema · queam · quemma · qumea · uqema

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quema" and "quería" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "quema" is a noun and "quería" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "quema" or "quería"?
"quería" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #777 in our Spanish list, against #6,348 for "quema". 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 "quema" and "quería" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "quema" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quería" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #308,855 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quema" and "quería" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quema vs Quim". 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 #308,855 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