abrasvsarrasaTell them apart

Which to use

“abras” and “arrasa” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#27,075
“abras” frequency rank
#32,502
“arrasa” frequency rank
59577
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abras arrasa
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de abrir o de abrirse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de arrasar o de arrasarse.

Where the eye mixes abras and arrasa

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
abras
6 ch
arrasa

Visual trap between abras and arrasa

A purely visual mix-up. abras ([ˈaβ̞ɾas]) and arrasa ([aˈrasa]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abras is recorded at frequency rank #27,075, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈaβ̞ɾas]. arrasa is at rank #32,502, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈrasa].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 59577, this pair ranks #62,099 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of abras vs arrasa

Shared letters: ars. Private to "abras": b. Private to "arrasa": -.

"abras" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "arrasa" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abrasabars · abbras · abrass · abrras · abrsa · arbas
  • arrasaararsa · arasa · arraas · arrassa · arrsaa · rarasa

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "abras" for "arrasa" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈaβ̞ɾas] versus [aˈrasa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "abras" or "arrasa"?
"abras" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,075 in our Spanish list, against #32,502 for "arrasa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "abras" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "arrasa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #62,099 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "abras" and "arrasa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arrasa vs arresta". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #62,099 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list