equivocarse

Equivocarse is a Spanish reflexive verb that means to make a mistake or to be mistaken. It covers errors in perception, memory, judgment, or action. The expression is commonly used with the reflexive pronoun to indicate personal error, as in me equivoqué. In addition to saying “to mistake oneself,” the verb is often combined with de or en to specify the area of the error.

Common constructions include equivocarse de followed by a thing or person to indicate taking the wrong one or having the wrong assumption, for example, me equivoqué de camino (I took the wrong way) or se equivocó de persona (he mistook the person). Equivocarse en is used to indicate making an error in something, such as me equivoqué en la cuenta (I was mistaken in the calculation) or me equivoqué al responder (I erred in my answer).

Conjugation overview: equivocar is a regular -ar verb in its regular forms when used without the reflexive pronoun, while equivocar se operates with standard reflexive conjugations. Present: me equivoco, te equivocas, se equivoca, nos equivocamos, os equivocáis, se equivocan. Preterite: me equivoqué, te equivocaste, se equivocó, nos equivocamos, os equivocasteis, se equivocaron. Imperfect: me equivocaba, te equivocabas, se equivocaba, nos equivocábamos, os equivocabais, se equivocaban. Future: me equivocaré, te equivocarás, se equivocará, nos equivocaremos, os equivocaréis, se equivocarán. Present subjunctive: me equivoque, te equivoques, se equivoque, nos equivoquemos, os equivoquéis, se equivoquen. Imperfect subjunctive: me equivocara(o) o me equivocase, te equivocaras, se equivocara(o) o se equivocase, nos equivocaramos o nos equivocásemos, os equivocárais, se equivocaran o se equivocasen.

Etymology and related terms: equivocar derives from a Latin root related to ambiguity and error; the noun equívoco is related and can describe a mistaken impression or ambiguous statement. Related terms include equivocación and the related adjective equívoco, used to describe ambiguity or error.

See also: error, confundir, equivoco.