atraevsatrásWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: atrae is a verb, atrás is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“atrae” is a verb and “atrás” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,392
“atrae” frequency rank
#907
“atrás” frequency rank
8299
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature atrae atrás
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de atraer o de atraerse. Denota la parte posterior de alguna cosa o lo que está o queda a las espaldas.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set atrae and atrás apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
atrae
5 ch
atrás

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

atrae and atrás form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8299, 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]. atrás is at rank #907, tagged as anadv, pronounced [aˈt̪ɾas].

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 8299, this pair ranks #305,420 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

atrae#7,392
atrás#907

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "atrae" and "atrás" be used interchangeably?
No, "atrae" and "atrás" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering atrae vs atrás

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “atrae”; for an adverb, it's “atrás”.
  • 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list