resbalavsrespaldaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#35,232
“resbala” frequency rank
#18,963
“respalda” frequency rank
54195
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature resbala respalda
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de resbalar o de resbalarse. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de respaldar.

Where the eye mixes resbala and respalda

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. resbala runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against respalda's 8 (CVCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
resbala
8 ch
respalda

Visual trap between resbala and respalda

A purely visual mix-up. resbala ([resˈβ̞ala]) and respalda ([resˈpal̪d̪a]) 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 54195, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

resbala is recorded at frequency rank #35,232, classified as averb, pronounced [resˈβ̞ala]. respalda is at rank #18,963, tagged as averb, pronounced [resˈpal̪d̪a].

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 54195, this pair ranks #84,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of resbala vs respalda

Shared letters: aelrs. Private to "resbala": b. Private to "respalda": dp.

"resbala" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "respalda" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • resbala ← ersbala · rebsala · resabla · resbaal · resballa · resbbala · resblaa · ressbala
  • respalda ← erspalda · repsalda · resaplda · respadla · respalad · respaldda · respallda · resplada

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "resbala" and "respalda" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([resˈβ̞ala] versus [resˈpal̪d̪a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "resbala" or "respalda"?
"respalda" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,963 in our Spanish list, against #35,232 for "resbala". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "resbala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "respalda" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #84,395 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "resbala" and "respalda" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "rebasa vs resbala". 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 #84,395 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