equivoqué

Equivoqué is the first-person singular preterite form of the Spanish verb equivocar, which generally means to cause to be mistaken, to mistake, or to err. In contemporary use, the form most often appears in the reflexive construction me equivoqué, meaning “I was mistaken” or “I made a mistake.” The bare form equivoqué can appear in literature or dialogue when the subject is understood from context, but it is less common outside of fixed expressions.

In standard conjugation, the preterite forms are: yo equivoqué, tú equivocaste, él/ella/usted equivocó, nosotros equivocamos, vosotros equivocasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes equivocaron. The yo form carries a orthographic change (car → qué) to maintain pronunciation, and the third-person singular form equivocó also carries an accent on the final syllable.

Etymology and related terms place equivoqué within the family of palabras related to equívoco, meaning ambiguous or mistaken. The verb equivocar and its reflexive form equivocarse are used to express error in various senses: to mistake someone or something for another, to misread or misunderse a situation, or to err in judgment or action. Common collocations include equivoqué de camino (I took the wrong road), equivoqué la hora (I got the time wrong), and me equivoqué al responder (I answered wrongly).

See also: equívoco, referring to ambiguity or error as a noun, and equivocación, the noun form for a mistake or error. Equivocarse is the general reflexive form used to express being mistaken, with equivoqué as the simple past form corresponding to yo me equivoqué.