revelarvsrevelarseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,034
“revelar” frequency rank
#46,185
“revelarse” frequency rank
55219
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature revelar revelarse
Definition Mostrar o descubrir lo que antes estaba oculto, en secreto, o que la mayoría de la gente no conocía. Hacerse patente o manifiesto lo que antes estaba oculto, en secreto, o que la mayoría de la gente no conocía.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set revelar and revelarse apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
revelar
9 ch
revelarse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. revelar ([reβ̞eˈlaɾ]) and revelarse ([reβ̞eˈlaɾse]) 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) - “revelar” sits inside “revelarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55219, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

revelar is recorded at frequency rank #9,034, classified as averb, pronounced [reβ̞eˈlaɾ]. revelarse is at rank #46,185, tagged as averb, pronounced [reβ̞eˈlaɾse].

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 55219, this pair ranks #79,874 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of revelar vs revelarse

Shared letters: aelrv. Private to "revelar": -. Private to "revelarse": s.

"revelar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "revelarse" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • revelarervelar · rebelar · reevlar · revealr · revelarr · revellar · revelra · revlear
  • revelarseervelarse · reevlarse · revealrse · revelarce · revelares · revelarrse · revelarsse · revelasre

Frequency comparison

revelar#9,034
revelarse#46,185

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "revelar" and "revelarse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([reβ̞eˈlaɾ] versus [reβ̞eˈlaɾse]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "revelar" or "revelarse"?
"revelar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,034 in our Spanish list, against #46,185 for "revelarse". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering revelar vs revelarse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “revelar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list