Which to use
“rábano” is a noun and “roban” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #46,197
- “rábano” frequency rank
- #8,180
- “roban” frequency rank
- 54377
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | rábano | roban |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de robar. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set rábano and roban apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rábano is [ˈraβ̞ano] while roban is [ˈroβ̞ãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54377, 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]. roban is at rank #8,180, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈroβ̞ãn].
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 54377, this pair ranks #83,599 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of rábano vs roban
Shared letters: abnor. Private to "rábano": á. Private to "roban": -.
"rábano" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "roban" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- roban ← orban · rboan · roabn · robann · robban · robna · rovan · rroban
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "rábano" and "roban" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "rábano" or "roban"?
Remembering rábano vs roban
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “rábano”; for a verb, it's “roban”.
- 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