Which to use
“ceba” and “comba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,502
- “ceba” frequency rank
- #48,301
- “comba” frequency rank
- 97803
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ceba | comba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alimentación abundante y esmerada que para que engorde se da al ganado, especialmente al que es comido por el ser humano. | Forma cóncava o convexa que toma la superficie de ciertos objetos o sólidos cuando se curvan o encorvan, como ocurre con la madera, algunas láminas de metal, etc. |
Where the eye mixes ceba and comba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. ceba runs 4 letters (CVCV) against comba's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses ceba with comba
A purely visual mix-up. ceba ([ˈseβ̞a]) and comba ([ˈkõmba]) 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 97803, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ceba is recorded at frequency rank #49,502, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈseβ̞a]. comba is at rank #48,301, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈkõmba].
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 97803, this pair ranks #125 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ceba vs comba
Shared letters: abc. Private to "ceba": e. Private to "comba": mo.
"ceba" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "comba" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ceba" for "comba" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ceba" vs "comba" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ceba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "comba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #125 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ceba" and "comba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ceba vs Cova". 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 #125 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.