atraevsatraíaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,392
“atrae” frequency rank
#35,363
“atraía” frequency rank
42755
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature atrae atraía
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de atraer o de atraerse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de atraer o de atraerse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set atrae and atraía apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
atrae
6 ch
atraía

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. atrae ([aˈt̪ɾae]) and atraía ([at̪ɾaˈia]) 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 42755, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

atrae is recorded at frequency rank #7,392, classified as averb, pronounced [aˈt̪ɾae]. atraía is at rank #35,363, tagged as averb, pronounced [at̪ɾaˈia].

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 42755, this pair ranks #146,467 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of atrae vs atraía

Shared letters: art. Private to "atrae": e. Private to "atraía": í.

"atrae" · 5 letters · shape VCCVV  ·  "atraía" · 6 letters · shape VCCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • atraeartae · atare · atrrae · attrae

Frequency comparison

atrae#7,392
atraía#35,363

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "atrae" and "atraía" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aˈt̪ɾae] versus [at̪ɾaˈia]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "atrae" or "atraía"?
"atrae" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,392 in our Spanish list, against #35,363 for "atraía". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering atrae vs atraía

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “atrae” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list