regarvsrobarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#25,429
“regar” frequency rank
#3,080
“robar” frequency rank
28509
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature regar robar
Definition Llevar el agua a la tierra que cubre las plantas, a los sembradíos y a las plantas mismas. Quitar o tomar para sí lo ajeno usando la fuerza.

Where the eye mixes regar and robar

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

5 ch
regar
5 ch
robar

Why the eye confuses regar with robar

A purely visual mix-up. regar ([reˈɣ̞aɾ]) and robar ([roˈβ̞aɾ]) 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 28509, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

regar is recorded at frequency rank #25,429, classified as averb, pronounced [reˈɣ̞aɾ]. robar is at rank #3,080, tagged as averb, pronounced [roˈβ̞aɾ].

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 28509, this pair ranks #221,676 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of regar vs robar

Shared letters: ar. Private to "regar": eg. Private to "robar": bo.

"regar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "robar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • regarergar · reagr · regarr · reggar · regra · rgear · rregar
  • robarorbar · rboar · roabr · robarr · robbar · robra · rovar · rrobar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "regar" and "robar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([reˈɣ̞aɾ] versus [roˈβ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "regar" or "robar"?
"robar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,080 in our Spanish list, against #25,429 for "regar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "regar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "robar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #221,676 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "regar" and "robar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "regado vs regar". 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 #221,676 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