tomandovstomándoseWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#1,751
“tomando” frequency rank
#33,878
“tomándose” frequency rank
35629
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tomando tomándose
Definition Gerundio de tomar. Gerundio de tomar, con el pronombre «se» enclítico.

Where the eye mixes tomando and tomándose

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. tomando runs 7 letters (CVCVCCV) against tomándose's 9 (CVCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
tomando
9 ch
tomándose

Why the eye confuses tomando with tomándose

A purely visual mix-up. tomando ([t̪oˈmãn̪d̪o]) and tomándose ([t̪oˈmãn̪d̪ose]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35629, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tomando is recorded at frequency rank #1,751, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈmãn̪d̪o]. tomándose is at rank #33,878, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪oˈmãn̪d̪ose].

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 35629, this pair ranks #185,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tomando vs tomándose

Shared letters: dmnot. Private to "tomando": a. Private to "tomándose": esá.

"tomando" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "tomándose" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tomando ← otmando · tmoando · toamndo · tomadno · tomanddo · tomanndo · tomanod · tommando

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "tomando" and "tomándose" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([t̪oˈmãn̪d̪o] versus [t̪oˈmãn̪d̪ose]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tomando" vs "tomándose" - which ranks higher?
"tomando" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,751 in our Spanish list, against #33,878 for "tomándose". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "tomando" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "tomándose" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #185,018 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tomando" and "tomándose" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tirándose vs tomándose". 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 #185,018 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