Which to use
“arrastra” and “arrastrar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,009
- “arrastra” frequency rank
- #16,507
- “arrastrar” frequency rank
- 32516
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | arrastra | arrastrar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de arrastrar. | Mover un objeto de lugar sin levantarlo. |
Where the eye mixes arrastra and arrastrar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. arrastra runs 8 letters (VCCVCCCV) against arrastrar's 9 (VCCVCCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses arrastra with arrastrar
A purely visual mix-up. arrastra ([aˈrast̪ɾa]) and arrastrar ([arasˈt̪ɾaɾ]) 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 extra letter(s) - “arrastra” sits inside “arrastrar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32516, 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]. arrastrar is at rank #16,507, tagged as averb, pronounced [arasˈt̪ɾaɾ].
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 32516, this pair ranks #201,574 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of arrastra vs arrastrar
Shared letters: arst. Private to "arrastra": -. Private to "arrastrar": -.
"arrastra" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCCV · "arrastrar" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "arrastra" and "arrastrar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "arrastra" or "arrastrar" show up more?
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 "arrastrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #201,574 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "arrastra" and "arrastrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "arrastra 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 #201,574 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.