laborarvsladrarConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#39,309
“laborar” frequency rank
#32,276
“ladrar” frequency rank
71585
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laborar ladrar
Definition Variante de labrar. Dar ladridos el perro.

Where the eye mixes laborar and ladrar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. laborar runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against ladrar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
laborar
6 ch
ladrar

Visual trap between laborar and ladrar

A purely visual mix-up. laborar ([laβ̞oˈɾaɾ]) and ladrar ([laˈð̞ɾaɾ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 71585, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laborar is recorded at frequency rank #39,309, classified as averb, pronounced [laβ̞oˈɾaɾ]. ladrar is at rank #32,276, tagged as averb, pronounced [laˈð̞ɾaɾ].

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 71585, this pair ranks #27,168 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of laborar vs ladrar

Shared letters: alr. Private to "laborar": bo. Private to "ladrar": d.

"laborar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "ladrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laborar ← alborar · labborar · laboarr · laborarr · laborra · laborrar · labroar · laobrar
  • ladrar ← aldrar · ladarr · laddrar · ladrarr · ladrrar · lardar · ldarar · lladrar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "laborar" and "ladrar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([laβ̞oˈɾaɾ] versus [laˈð̞ɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "laborar" or "ladrar"?
"ladrar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,276 in our Spanish list, against #39,309 for "laborar". 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 "laborar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ladrar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #27,168 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "laborar" and "ladrar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "labora vs laborar". 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 #27,168 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