confundir
verbCEFR B2
What does “confundir” mean in English?
to confuse, to mix up
to confuse, to mix up (confundir A con B — mistake A for B; confundirse — make a mistake)
Example sentences
Es habitual confundir los términos 'empático' y 'simpático' en español, aunque sus significados son claramente distintos.
It is common to confuse the terms 'empático' and 'simpático' in Spanish, even though their meanings are clearly different.
El detective confesó que había confundido al sospechoso con otra persona durante la investigación inicial.
The detective admitted that he had mistaken the suspect for another person during the initial investigation.
Con tantas instrucciones al mismo tiempo, no me extraña que el nuevo empleado se confunda.
With so many instructions at the same time, it's no wonder the new employee gets confused.
How to use it
Confundir means 'to confuse', 'to mix up', or 'to mistake one thing for another'. The structure is confundir A con B (confuse A with B / mistake A for B): 'lo confundí con su hermano' (I confused him with his brother). The reflexive confundirse means 'to make a mistake' or 'to get confused': 'me confundí de número' (I dialled the wrong number). Don't confuse with malentender (to misunderstand — a communication failure) or desorientar (to disorient/confuse in a spatial sense).
Common mistake
Confundir A con B (mistake A for B) is the standard structure — not *confundir A y B. The reflexive confundirse de (confundirse de piso — get the flat wrong; confundirse de número — dial the wrong number) expresses making a specific identifiable mistake. In B2 grammar and linguistic commentary, confundir is the key verb for pointing out learner errors: 'los estudiantes suelen confundir el pretérito indefinido con el perfecto'.