grabavsgrúaConfusable pair

Quick tell: graba is a verb, grúa is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“graba” is a verb and “grúa” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#13,052
“graba” frequency rank
#19,427
“grúa” frequency rank
32479
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature graba grúa
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de grabar. (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 graba and grúa

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
graba
4 ch
grúa

Look-alike desk: graba vs grúa

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: graba is [ˈgɾaβ̞a] while grúa is [ˈgɾua]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32479, 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]. 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 32479, this pair ranks #201,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of graba vs grúa

Shared letters: agr. Private to "graba": b. Private to "grúa": ú.

"graba" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "grúa" · 4 letters · shape CCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grabagarba · ggraba · graab · grabba · grbaa · grraba · rgaba

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "graba" and "grúa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "graba" is a verb and "grúa" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "graba" vs "grúa" - which ranks higher?
"graba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,052 in our Spanish list, against #19,427 for "grúa". 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 "grúa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #201,744 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "graba" and "grúa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grúa vs guan". 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 #201,744 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