Which to use
“romper” and “romperse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,315
- “romper” frequency rank
- #19,242
- “romperse” frequency rank
- 21557
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | romper | romperse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Separar en partes o pedazos, usualmente con violencia. | Romper (uso pronominal de ...) |
Where the eye mixes romper and romperse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. romper runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against romperse's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: romper vs romperse
A purely visual mix-up. romper ([rõmˈpeɾ]) and romperse ([rõmˈpeɾse]) 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) - “romper” sits inside “romperse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21557, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
romper is recorded at frequency rank #2,315, classified as averb, pronounced [rõmˈpeɾ]. romperse is at rank #19,242, tagged as averb, pronounced [rõmˈpeɾse].
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 21557, this pair ranks #254,384 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of romper vs romperse
Shared letters: emopr. Private to "romper": -. Private to "romperse": s.
"romper" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "romperse" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "romper" and "romperse" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "romper" or "romperse"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "romper" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "romperse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #254,384 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "romper" and "romperse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "romperá vs romperse". 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 #254,384 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.