gravarvsgravesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#33,634
“gravar” frequency rank
#2,778
“graves” frequency rank
36412
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gravar graves
Definition Cargar, pesar sobre una persona o cosa. Forma del plural de grave.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
gravar
6 ch
graves

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gravar is [gɾaˈβ̞aɾ] while graves is [ˈgɾaβ̞es]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36412, 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]. graves is at rank #2,778, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈgɾaβ̞es].

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 36412, this pair ranks #180,748 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of gravar vs graves

Shared letters: agrv. Private to "gravar": -. Private to "graves": es.

"gravar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "graves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gravargarvar · ggravar · graavr · gravarr · gravra · gravvar · grravar · grvaar
  • gravesgarves · ggraves · grabes · graevs · gravess · gravse · gravves · grraves

Frequency comparison

gravar#33,634
graves#2,778

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gravar" and "graves" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gravar" is a verb and "graves" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gravar" or "graves"?
"graves" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,778 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 graves

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 “graves”.
  • 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