tropeçarse

Tropeçarse is a non-standard variant of the Spanish verb tropezarse. In normative Spanish, the correct spelling is tropezarse. The form tropeçarse often appears as an error or under influence from other Romance languages that use a č or ç character, such as Portuguese tropeçar. Because it is not accepted by the standard orthography, most dictionaries and grammar guides treat tropeçarse as a misspelling rather than a proper form.

Tropezarse means to stumble or trip oneself, usually while walking, by hitting a foot on an obstacle or losing balance. It can also be used figuratively to describe a stumble in a plan, argument, or speech, as in someone who “se tropiezó con un problema” or “se tropezó con sus palabras.” The reflexive form emphasizes the subject’s own action or experience of the stumble, but the verb can appear without the reflexive if the sense is transitive, as in “tropezar con una piedra” (to stumble over a stone) or “tropezar con alguien” (to bump into someone).

Conjugation overview (present, preterite, and participle): me tropezo, te tropiezas, se tropieza; me tropecé, te tropezaste, se tropezó; tropezado. Common related expressions include “tropezar con alguien/algo” and “dar un tropiezo” (to give/cause a stumble) in the sense of a setback.

Notas: para usos formales y en español normativo, se recomienda emplear tropezarse; tropeçarse aparece principalmente como variante no aceptada o como error tipográfico, y puede generar confusión.