Which to use
“recabar” and “relajar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #22,835
- “recabar” frequency rank
- #26,594
- “relajar” frequency rank
- 49429
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | recabar | relajar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Alcanzar, conseguir con instancias o súplicas lo que se desea. | Aflojar, ablandar, soltar. |
Where the eye mixes recabar and relajar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. recabar and relajar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses recabar with relajar
A purely visual mix-up. recabar ([rekaˈβ̞aɾ]) and relajar ([relaˈxaɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49429, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
recabar is recorded at frequency rank #22,835, classified as averb, pronounced [rekaˈβ̞aɾ]. relajar is at rank #26,594, tagged as averb, pronounced [relaˈxaɾ].
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 49429, this pair ranks #108,913 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of recabar vs relajar
Shared letters: aer. Private to "recabar": bc. Private to "relajar": jl.
"recabar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "relajar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "recabar" for "relajar" ever safe?
Which is more common, "recabar" or "relajar"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "recabar" and "relajar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "recabar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "relajar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #108,913 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "recabar" and "relajar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "relajar vs relaje". 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 #108,913 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.