Which to use
“tragar” and “tragarse” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,029
- “tragar” frequency rank
- #32,435
- “tragarse” frequency rank
- 46464
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tragar | tragarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Hacer pasar algo a través de la garganta para que llegue al estómago, o realizar los movimientos musculares que típicamente se asocian con esta acción. | Hacer pasar algo completamente a través de la garganta para que llegue al estómago, en especial de un modo brusco o atropellado. |
Where the eye mixes tragar and tragarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. tragar runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against tragarse's 8 (CCVCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses tragar with tragarse
A purely visual mix-up. tragar ([t̪ɾaˈɣ̞aɾ]) and tragarse ([t̪ɾaˈɣ̞aɾse]) 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) - “tragar” sits inside “tragarse”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46464, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tragar is recorded at frequency rank #14,029, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈɣ̞aɾ]. tragarse is at rank #32,435, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈɣ̞aɾse].
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 46464, this pair ranks #125,557 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tragar vs tragarse
Shared letters: agrt. Private to "tragar": -. Private to "tragarse": es.
"tragar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "tragarse" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tragar" for "tragarse" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "tragar" or "tragarse" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "tragar" and "tragarse" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "tragar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tragarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #125,557 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tragar" and "tragarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "traca vs tragar". 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 #125,557 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.