Which to use
“alegra” is a noun and “alegraba” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,968
- “alegra” frequency rank
- #47,532
- “alegraba” frequency rank
- 52500
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | alegra | alegraba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Especie de barrena para taladrar las bombas. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de alegrar o de alegrarse. |
Where the eye mixes alegra and alegraba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses alegra with alegraba
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alegra is [aˈleɣ̞ɾa] while alegraba is [aleˈɣ̞ɾaβ̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “alegra” sits inside “alegraba”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52500, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
alegra is recorded at frequency rank #4,968, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈleɣ̞ɾa]. alegraba is at rank #47,532, tagged as averb, pronounced [aleˈɣ̞ɾaβ̞a].
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 52500, this pair ranks #92,392 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of alegra vs alegraba
Shared letters: aeglr. Private to "alegra": -. Private to "alegraba": b.
"alegra" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "alegraba" · 8 letters · shape VCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "alegra" and "alegraba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "alegra" or "alegraba" show up more?
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 "alegra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "alegraba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #92,392 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "alegra" and "alegraba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alegraba vs alegraría". 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 #92,392 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.