Which to use
“gray” and “grúa” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,788
- “gray” frequency rank
- #19,427
- “grúa” frequency rank
- 31215
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gray | grúa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gris. | (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 gray and grúa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: gray vs grúa
A purely visual mix-up. gray ([ɡɹeɪ]) and grúa ([ˈgɾua]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31215, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gray is recorded at frequency rank #11,788, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɡɹeɪ]. 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 31215, this pair ranks #208,194 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of gray vs grúa
Shared letters: agr. Private to "gray": y. Private to "grúa": ú.
"gray" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "grúa" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- gray ← ggray · grayy · grray · grya · rgay
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gray" for "grúa" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "gray" or "grúa" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "gray" 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 #208,194 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gray" 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 #208,194 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.