rabiavsrayaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,374
“rabia” frequency rank
#8,702
“raya” frequency rank
13076
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rabia raya
Definition Enfermedad infecciosa del sistema nervioso, producida por un virus que provoca una encefalitis aguda que resulta fatal, salvo que se trate antes de la aparición de los síntomas en el período inmediatamente posterior a la infección. Afecta a varias especies de animales, en especial carnívoros y roedores, y al ser humano, y en muchos países es una causa importante de muertes. Marca o señal larga y estrecha.

Where the eye mixes rabia and raya

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
rabia
4 ch
raya

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. rabia ([ˈraβ̞ja]) and raya ([ˈraʝa]) 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 13076, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rabia is recorded at frequency rank #4,374, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈraβ̞ja]. raya is at rank #8,702, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈraʝa].

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 13076, this pair ranks #289,246 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of rabia vs raya

Shared letters: ar. Private to "rabia": bi. Private to "raya": y.

"rabia" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "raya" · 4 letters · shape CVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • rabiaarbia · rabai · rabbia · raiba · ravia · rbaia · rrabia
  • rayaarya · raay · rayya · rraya · ryaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rabia" and "raya" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈraβ̞ja] versus [ˈraʝa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "rabia" or "raya"?
"rabia" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,374 in our Spanish list, against #8,702 for "raya". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list