Which to use
“quemar” and “quemarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,659
- “quemar” frequency rank
- #30,636
- “quemarse” frequency rank
- 36295
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quemar | quemarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Prender fuego y hacer que la cosa arda hasta consumirse total o parcialmente. | Herirse o llagarse por efecto del fuego o del calor. |
Where the eye mixes quemar and quemarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. quemar runs 6 letters (CVVCVC) against quemarse's 8 (CVVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between quemar and quemarse
A purely visual mix-up. quemar ([keˈmaɾ]) and quemarse ([keˈmaɾse]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “quemar” sits inside “quemarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36295, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
quemar is recorded at frequency rank #5,659, classified as averb, pronounced [keˈmaɾ]. quemarse is at rank #30,636, tagged as averb, pronounced [keˈmaɾse].
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 36295, this pair ranks #181,387 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of quemar vs quemarse
Shared letters: aemqru. Private to "quemar": -. Private to "quemarse": s.
"quemar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC · "quemarse" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "quemar" and "quemarse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "quemar" vs "quemarse" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "quemar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "quemarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #181,387 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "quemar" and "quemarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quedare vs quemarse". 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 #181,387 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.