tirarvstirarleConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,521
“tirar” frequency rank
#27,032
“tirarle” frequency rank
30553
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tirar tirarle
Definition Traer un objeto, asiéndolo y ejerciendo fuerza hacia el lado propio. Tirar, con el enclítico le.

Where the eye mixes tirar and tirarle

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. tirar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against tirarle's 7 (CVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
tirar
7 ch
tirarle

Visual trap between tirar and tirarle

A purely visual mix-up. tirar ([t̪iˈɾaɾ]) and tirarle ([t̪iˈɾaɾle]) 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) - “tirar” sits inside “tirarle”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30553, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tirar is recorded at frequency rank #3,521, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪iˈɾaɾ]. tirarle is at rank #27,032, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪iˈɾaɾle].

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 30553, this pair ranks #211,437 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tirar vs tirarle

Shared letters: airt. Private to "tirar": -. Private to "tirarle": el.

"tirar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "tirarle" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tirar ← itrar · tiarr · tirarr · tirra · tirrar · triar · ttirar
  • tirarle ← itrarle · tiarrle · tiralre · tirarel · tirarlle · tirarrle · tirrale · tirrarle

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tirar" and "tirarle" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([t̪iˈɾaɾ] versus [t̪iˈɾaɾle]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tirar" or "tirarle"?
"tirar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,521 in our Spanish list, against #27,032 for "tirarle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tirar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tirarle" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #211,437 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tirar" and "tirarle" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tirante vs tirarle". 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 #211,437 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