Which to use
“grava” is a noun and “gravar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,800
- “grava” frequency rank
- #33,634
- “gravar” frequency rank
- 57434
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | grava | gravar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Piedra machacada (o la arena más gruesa, que la mayor es de río) con que se cubre y allana el piso de los caminos, las calles de los jardines, etc. | Cargar, pesar sobre una persona o cosa. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set grava and gravar apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: grava is [ˈgɾaβ̞a] while gravar is [gɾaˈβ̞aɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “grava” sits inside “gravar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57434, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
grava is recorded at frequency rank #23,800, classified as anoun, 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 57434, this pair ranks #70,518 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of grava vs gravar
Shared letters: agrv. Private to "grava": -. Private to "gravar": -.
"grava" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "gravar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "grava" and "gravar" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "grava" or "gravar"?
Remembering grava vs gravar
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “grava”; for a verb, it's “gravar”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “grava” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable