grabavsgrabanConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#13,052
“graba” frequency rank
#21,691
“graban” frequency rank
34743
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature graba graban
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de grabar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de grabar.

Where the eye mixes graba and graban

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
graba
6 ch
graban

Why the eye confuses graba with graban

A purely visual mix-up. graba ([ˈgɾaβ̞a]) and graban ([ˈgɾaβ̞ãn]) 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 extra letter(s) - “graba” sits inside “graban”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34743, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

graba is recorded at frequency rank #13,052, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈgɾaβ̞a]. graban is at rank #21,691, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈgɾaβ̞ãn].

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 34743, this pair ranks #189,795 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of graba vs graban

Shared letters: abgr. Private to "graba": -. Private to "graban": n.

"graba" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "graban" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grabagarba · ggraba · graab · grabba · grbaa · grraba · rgaba
  • grabangarban · ggraban · graabn · grabann · grabban · grabna · gravan · grbaan

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "graba" for "graban" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈgɾaβ̞a] versus [ˈgɾaβ̞ãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "graba" vs "graban" - which ranks higher?
"graba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,052 in our Spanish list, against #21,691 for "graban". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "graba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "graban" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #189,795 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "graba" and "graban" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gozaban vs graban". 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 #189,795 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