ganabavsgrabaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#11,974
“ganaba” frequency rank
#13,052
“graba” frequency rank
25026
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ganaba graba
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de ganar o de ganarse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de grabar.

Where the eye mixes ganaba and graba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
ganaba
5 ch
graba

Visual trap between ganaba and graba

A purely visual mix-up. ganaba ([gaˈnaβ̞a]) and graba ([ˈgɾaβ̞a]) 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 25026, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ganaba is recorded at frequency rank #11,974, classified as averb, pronounced [gaˈnaβ̞a]. graba is at rank #13,052, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈgɾaβ̞a].

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 25026, this pair ranks #238,358 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ganaba vs graba

Shared letters: abg. Private to "ganaba": n. Private to "graba": r.

"ganaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "graba" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ganabaagnaba · gaanba · ganaab · ganabba · ganava · ganbaa · gannaba · gganaba
  • grabagarba · ggraba · graab · grabba · grbaa · grraba · rgaba

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ganaba" and "graba" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([gaˈnaβ̞a] versus [ˈgɾaβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ganaba" or "graba"?
"ganaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,974 in our Spanish list, against #13,052 for "graba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "ganaba" and "graba" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "ganaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "graba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #238,358 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "ganaba" and "graba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gara vs graba". 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 #238,358 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