racevsrazaConfusable pair

Quick tell: race is a verb, raza is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“race” is a verb and “raza” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,436
“race” frequency rank
#2,266
“raza” frequency rank
16702
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature race raza
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de razar. Grupo que se distingue por una ascendencia común.

Where the eye mixes race and raza

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
race
4 ch
raza

Why the eye confuses race with raza

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: race is [ˈrase] while raza is [ˈrasa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16702, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

race is recorded at frequency rank #14,436, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈrase]. raza is at rank #2,266, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈrasa].

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 16702, this pair ranks #275,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of race vs raza

Shared letters: ar. Private to "race": ce. Private to "raza": z.

"race" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "raza" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • raceracce · raec · rase · rcae · rrace
  • razaarza · raaz · razza · rraza · rzaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "race" and "raza" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "race" is a verb and "raza" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "race" or "raza"?
"raza" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,266 in our Spanish list, against #14,436 for "race". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "race" and "raza" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "race" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "raza" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #275,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "race" and "raza" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "race vs rajo". 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 #275,107 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