gemavsgrúaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#23,426
“gema” frequency rank
#19,427
“grúa” frequency rank
42853
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gema grúa
Definition Cualquier piedra preciosa. (familia Gruidae) Cualquiera de unas quince especies de aves gruiformes de gran tamaño, con cuerpos estilizados, cuello y patas largos, y alas de perfil redondeado, que habitan en humedales de todo el mundo.

Where the eye mixes gema and grúa

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
gema
4 ch
grúa

Look-alike desk: gema vs grúa

A purely visual mix-up. gema ([ˈxema]) and grúa ([ˈgɾua]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42853, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gema is recorded at frequency rank #23,426, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈxema]. grúa is at rank #19,427, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈgɾua].

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 42853, this pair ranks #145,944 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gema vs grúa

Shared letters: ag. Private to "gema": em. Private to "grúa": .

"gema" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "grúa" · 4 letters · shape CCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gemaegma · geam · ggema · gmea

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "gema" for "grúa" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈxema] versus [ˈgɾua]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "gema" vs "grúa" - which ranks higher?
"grúa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,427 in our Spanish list, against #23,426 for "gema". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "gema" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "grúa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #145,944 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "gema" and "grúa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gara vs gema". 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 #145,944 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