robavsrobabaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,624
“roba” frequency rank
#30,240
“robaba” frequency rank
37864
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature roba robaba
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de robar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de robar.

Where the eye mixes roba and robaba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

4 ch
roba
6 ch
robaba

Why the eye confuses roba with robaba

A purely visual mix-up. roba ([ˈroβ̞a]) and robaba ([roˈβ̞aβ̞a]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “roba” sits inside “robaba”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37864, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

roba is recorded at frequency rank #7,624, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈroβ̞a]. robaba is at rank #30,240, tagged as averb, pronounced [roˈβ̞aβ̞a].

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 37864, this pair ranks #173,057 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of roba vs robaba

Shared letters: abor. Private to "roba": -. Private to "robaba": -.

"roba" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "robaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • robarboa · roab · robba · rova · rroba
  • robabaorbaba · rboaba · roabba · robaab · robabba · robbaa · robbaba · rovava

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "roba" and "robaba" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈroβ̞a] versus [roˈβ̞aβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "roba" vs "robaba" - which ranks higher?
"roba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,624 in our Spanish list, against #30,240 for "robaba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "roba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "robaba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #173,057 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "roba" and "robaba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "robaba vs Rosana". 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 #173,057 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