arrastravsarrastrabaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#16,009
“arrastra” frequency rank
#44,560
“arrastraba” frequency rank
60569
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature arrastra arrastraba
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de arrastrar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de arrastrar.

Where the eye mixes arrastra and arrastraba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. arrastra runs 8 letters (VCCVCCCV) against arrastraba's 10 (VCCVCCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
arrastra
10 ch
arrastraba

Visual trap between arrastra and arrastraba

A purely visual mix-up. arrastra ([aˈrast̪ɾa]) and arrastraba ([arasˈt̪ɾaβ̞a]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “arrastra” sits inside “arrastraba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60569, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

arrastra is recorded at frequency rank #16,009, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈrast̪ɾa]. arrastraba is at rank #44,560, tagged as averb, pronounced [arasˈt̪ɾaβ̞a].

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 60569, this pair ranks #58,487 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of arrastra vs arrastraba

Shared letters: arst. Private to "arrastra": -. Private to "arrastraba": b.

"arrastra" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV  ·  "arrastraba" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • arrastra ← ararstra · arastra · arrasrta · arrasstra · arrastar · arrastrra · arrasttra · arratsra
  • arrastraba ← ararstraba · arastraba · arrasrtaba · arrasstraba · arrastarba · arrastraab · arrastrabba · arrastrava

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "arrastra" for "arrastraba" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([aˈrast̪ɾa] versus [arasˈt̪ɾaβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "arrastra" or "arrastraba"?
"arrastra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,009 in our Spanish list, against #44,560 for "arrastraba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "arrastra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "arrastraba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #58,487 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "arrastra" and "arrastraba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arrastraba vs arrastran". 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 #58,487 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