grabavsgravarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#13,052
“graba” frequency rank
#33,634
“gravar” frequency rank
46686
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature graba gravar
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de grabar. Cargar, pesar sobre una persona o cosa.

Where the eye mixes graba and gravar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. graba runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against gravar's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
graba
6 ch
gravar

Visual trap between graba and gravar

A purely visual mix-up. graba ([ˈgɾaβ̞a]) and gravar ([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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46686, 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]. gravar is at rank #33,634, 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 46686, this pair ranks #124,354 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of graba vs gravar

Shared letters: agr. Private to "graba": b. Private to "gravar": v.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • graba ← garba · ggraba · graab · grabba · grbaa · grraba · rgaba
  • gravar ← garvar · ggravar · graavr · gravarr · gravra · gravvar · grravar · grvaar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "graba" and "gravar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
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 "gravar" - which ranks higher?
"graba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,052 in our Spanish list, against #33,634 for "gravar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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 "gravar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #124,354 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "graba" and "gravar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grammar vs gravar". 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 #124,354 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