grúavsgulaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,427
“grúa” frequency rank
#40,329
“gula” frequency rank
59756
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature grúa gula
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. Exceso en la comida o bebida, y apetito desordenado de comer y beber.

Where the eye mixes grúa and gula

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. grúa (CCVV) and gula (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
grúa
4 ch
gula

Why the eye confuses grúa with gula

A purely visual mix-up. grúa ([ˈgɾua]) and gula ([ˈgula]) 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 59756, 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]. gula is at rank #40,329, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈgula].

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 59756, this pair ranks #61,435 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of grúa vs gula

Shared letters: ag. Private to "grúa": rú. Private to "gula": lu.

"grúa" · 4 letters · shape CCVV  ·  "gula" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • gula ← ggula · glua · gual · gulla · ugla

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "grúa" and "gula" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈgɾua] versus [ˈgula]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "grúa" or "gula"?
"grúa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,427 in our Spanish list, against #40,329 for "gula". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "grúa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gula" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #61,435 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "grúa" and "gula" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "guan vs gula". 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 #61,435 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