grosvsgrúaWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#47,837
“gros” frequency rank
#19,427
“grúa” frequency rank
67264
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature gros grúa
Definition Grande (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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set gros and grúa apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
gros
4 ch
grúa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gros is [ˈɡɾos] while grúa is [ˈgɾua]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67264, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

gros is recorded at frequency rank #47,837, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈɡɾos]. 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 67264, this pair ranks #37,615 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of gros vs grúa

Shared letters: gr. Private to "gros": os. Private to "grúa": .

"gros" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "grúa" · 4 letters · shape CCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • grosggros · gors · grros · grso · rgos

Frequency comparison

gros#47,837
grúa#19,427

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "gros" and "grúa" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "gros" is an adjective and "grúa" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "gros" or "grúa"?
"grúa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,427 in our Spanish list, against #47,837 for "gros". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering gros vs grúa

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “gros”; for a noun, it's “grúa”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “gros” 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