grúavsgruesaTell them apart

Which to use

“grúa” and “gruesa” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,427
“grúa” frequency rank
#12,828
“gruesa” frequency rank
32255
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grúa gruesa
Definition (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. Número equivalente a doce docenas (144 en notación decimal o 100 en notación duodecimal). Es una medida que se ha usado tradicionalmente en el expendio de objetos menudos.

Where the eye mixes grúa and gruesa

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. grúa runs 4 letters (CCVV) against gruesa's 6 (CCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
grúa
6 ch
gruesa

Look-alike desk: grúa vs gruesa

A purely visual mix-up. grúa ([ˈgɾua]) and gruesa ([ˈgɾwesa]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32255, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

grúa is recorded at frequency rank #19,427, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈgɾua]. gruesa is at rank #12,828, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈgɾwesa].

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 32255, this pair ranks #202,935 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of grúa vs gruesa

Shared letters: agr. Private to "grúa": ú. Private to "gruesa": esu.

"grúa" · 4 letters · shape CCVV  ·  "gruesa" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gruesa ← ggruesa · greusa · grruesa · grueas · gruessa · grusea · guresa · rguesa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "grúa" and "gruesa" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈgɾua] versus [ˈgɾwesa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "grúa" vs "gruesa" - which ranks higher?
"gruesa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,828 in our Spanish list, against #19,427 for "grúa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "grúa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gruesa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #202,935 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "grúa" and "gruesa" 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 #202,935 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list