robvsroeWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#12,919
“rob” frequency rank
#39,442
“roe” frequency rank
52361
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rob roe
Definition Jugo o pulpa de fruta, cocida con azúcar o miel hasta tomar densidad de almíbar. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de roer.

Where the eye mixes rob and roe

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

3 ch
rob
3 ch
roe

Look-alike desk: rob vs roe

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: rob is [ˈroβ̞] while roe is [ˈroe]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “rob” becomes e in “roe”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52361, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rob is recorded at frequency rank #12,919, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈroβ̞]. roe is at rank #39,442, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈroe].

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 52361, this pair ranks #93,082 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rob vs roe

Shared letters: or. Private to "rob": b. Private to "roe": e.

"rob" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "roe" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rob" and "roe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rob" is a noun and "roe" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "rob" or "roe" show up more?
"rob" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,919 in our Spanish list, against #39,442 for "roe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "rob" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "roe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #93,082 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "rob" and "roe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "roe vs rum". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #93,082 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