rábanovsrebañosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#46,197
“rábano” frequency rank
#32,372
“rebaños” frequency rank
78569
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rábano rebaños
Definition (Raphanus sativus) Planta comestible de tallo velludo, hojas grandes y ásperas, flores blancas, amarillas o púrpuras en racimos terminales y raíz carnosa, redondeada o con forma de huso, de color blanco, rojo, amarillento o negro y de sabor picante. Forma del plural de rebaño.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rábano and rebaños apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
rábano
7 ch
rebaños

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. rábano ([ˈraβ̞ano]) and rebaños ([reˈβ̞aɲos]) 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 78569, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rábano is recorded at frequency rank #46,197, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈraβ̞ano]. rebaños is at rank #32,372, tagged as anoun, pronounced [reˈβ̞aɲos].

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 78569, this pair ranks #14,282 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of rábano vs rebaños

Shared letters: abor. Private to "rábano": . Private to "rebaños": esñ.

"rábano" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "rebaños" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequency comparison

rábano#46,197
rebaños#32,372

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rábano" and "rebaños" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈraβ̞ano] versus [reˈβ̞aɲos]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rábano" or "rebaños"?
"rebaños" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,372 in our Spanish list, against #46,197 for "rábano". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering rábano vs rebaños

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “rábano” 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