Spanish word

confundir

Pronunciation

IPA/konfunˈdiɾ/

Meaning

  • verbconfuse

Example

No confundas la amistad con el amor.

Don't confuse friendship with love.

Illustration for confundir (confuse)

More examples

El testigo confundió al sospechoso con otra persona.

The witness confused the suspect with another person.

Core concept

Blurred overlap of two similar items making their identity unclear.

Common phrases

  • confundir a alguien con otra persona

    confuse someone with another person

  • confundir la causa con el efecto

    mistake the cause for the effect

  • confundir conceptos

    confuse concepts

Similar words

equivocarse: Makes a wrong judgment or choice, producing an incorrect result.
malinterpretar: Interprets words or behavior incorrectly, assigning them the wrong meaning.
mezclar: Mixes separate items so their individual identities become indistinguishable.

Definition in Spanish

Tomar equivocadamente una cosa por otra o provocar que alguien no distinga entre dos cosas.

Word origin

It derives from Latin confundĕre (com- 'together' + fundere 'to pour'), originally 'to pour together' and then 'to mix', which produces the sense 'make indistinct or cause misidentification'.

Usage tips

  • Although similar in English, the constructions differ: 'confundir X con Y' marks misidentification; 'confundir a alguien' makes someone confused; 'confundirse' means the subject is mistaken.

Other meanings

  • mistakeverb
  • bewilderverb
  • misidentifyverb

Opposites

Related words

  • confusiónconfusionnoun
  • confundidoconfusedadjective
  • confundibleconfusableadjective

Word lists with this word