reducirvsreducirseTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,225
“reducir” frequency rank
#26,587
“reducirse” frequency rank
28812
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature reducir reducirse
Definition Volver más pequeño,. Verse constreñido, forzado, a hacer algo por la fuerza de las circunstancias.

Where the eye mixes reducir and reducirse

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. reducir runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against reducirse's 9 (CVCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
reducir
9 ch
reducirse

Look-alike desk: reducir vs reducirse

A purely visual mix-up. reducir ([reð̞uˈsiɾ]) and reducirse ([reð̞uˈsiɾse]) 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) - “reducir” sits inside “reducirse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28812, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

reducir is recorded at frequency rank #2,225, classified as averb, pronounced [reð̞uˈsiɾ]. reducirse is at rank #26,587, tagged as averb, pronounced [reð̞uˈsiɾse].

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 28812, this pair ranks #220,144 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of reducir vs reducirse

Shared letters: cdeiru. Private to "reducir": -. Private to "reducirse": s.

"reducir" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "reducirse" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • reducir ← erducir · rdeucir · redcuir · redducir · reduccir · reducirr · reducri · reduicr
  • reducirse ← erducirse · rdeucirse · redcuirse · redducirse · reduccirse · reducirce · reducires · reducirrse

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "reducir" and "reducirse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reð̞uˈsiɾ] versus [reð̞uˈsiɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "reducir" or "reducirse"?
"reducir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,225 in our Spanish list, against #26,587 for "reducirse". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "reducir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "reducirse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #220,144 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "reducir" and "reducirse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "reduciría vs reducirse". 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 #220,144 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