grabavsgrabarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,052
“graba” frequency rank
#4,340
“grabar” frequency rank
17392
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature graba grabar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de grabar. Labrar —en relieve o en hueco— sobre una superficie dura algún símbolo, señal, texto, figura o representación.

Where the eye mixes graba and grabar

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

5 ch
graba
6 ch
grabar

Why the eye confuses graba with grabar

A purely visual mix-up. graba ([ˈgɾaβ̞a]) and grabar ([gɾaˈβ̞aɾ]) 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 “grabar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17392, 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]. grabar is at rank #4,340, tagged as averb, pronounced [gɾaˈβ̞aɾ].

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 17392, this pair ranks #272,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of graba vs grabar

Shared letters: abgr. Private to "graba": -. Private to "grabar": -.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grabagarba · ggraba · graab · grabba · grbaa · grraba · rgaba
  • grabargarbar · ggrabar · graabr · grabarr · grabbar · grabra · grbaar · grrabar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "graba" and "grabar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈgɾaβ̞a] versus [gɾaˈβ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "graba" vs "grabar" - which ranks higher?
"grabar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,340 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.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "graba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "grabar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #272,301 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "graba" and "grabar" 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 #272,301 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