Which to use
“quién” is a pronoun and “quieta” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #355
- “quién” frequency rank
- #21,124
- “quieta” frequency rank
- 21479
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | quién | quieta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qué persona. | Forma del femenino singular de quieto. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quién and quieta apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quién is [ˈkjẽn] while quieta is [ˈkjet̪a]. 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 (pronoun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
quién is recorded at frequency rank #355, classified as apron, pronounced [ˈkjẽn]. quieta is at rank #21,124, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈkjet̪a].
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 21479, this pair ranks #254,748 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of quién vs quieta
Shared letters: iqu. Private to "quién": né. Private to "quieta": aet.
"quién" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "quieta" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- quieta ← qiueta · qquieta · queita · quieat · quietta · quitea · uqieta
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "quién" and "quieta" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "quién" or "quieta"?
Remembering quién vs quieta
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “quién”; for an adjective, it's “quieta”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quién” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable