gravarvsgraveWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: gravar is a verb, grave is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“gravar” is a verb and “grave” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#33,634
“gravar” frequency rank
#1,637
“grave” frequency rank
35271
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gravar grave
Definition Cargar, pesar sobre una persona o cosa. De gran importancia o con consecuencias serias.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gravar and grave apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
gravar
5 ch
grave

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gravar is [gɾaˈβ̞aɾ] while grave is [ˈgɾaβ̞e]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35271, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gravar is recorded at frequency rank #33,634, classified as averb, pronounced [gɾaˈβ̞aɾ]. grave is at rank #1,637, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈgɾaβ̞e].

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 35271, this pair ranks #186,991 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gravar vs grave

Shared letters: agrv. Private to "gravar": -. Private to "grave": e.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gravargarvar · ggravar · graavr · gravarr · gravra · gravvar · grravar · grvaar
  • gravegarve · ggrave · graev · gravve · grrave · grvae · rgave

Frequency comparison

gravar#33,634
grave#1,637

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gravar" and "grave" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gravar" is a verb and "grave" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gravar" or "grave"?
"grave" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,637 in our Spanish list, against #33,634 for "gravar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering gravar vs grave

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “gravar”; for an adjective, it's “grave”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gravar” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list