robabavsrobadaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: robaba is a verb, robada is a participle, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“robaba” is a verb and “robada” is a participle - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,240
“robaba” frequency rank
#17,537
“robada” frequency rank
47777
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature robaba robada
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de robar. Forma del femenino de robado, participio de robar.

Where the eye mixes robaba and robada

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
robaba
6 ch
robada

Why the eye confuses robaba with robada

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: robaba is [roˈβ̞aβ̞a] while robada is [roˈβ̞að̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - b in “robaba” becomes d in “robada”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs participle), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47777, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

robaba is recorded at frequency rank #30,240, classified as averb, pronounced [roˈβ̞aβ̞a]. robada is at rank #17,537, tagged as aparticiple, pronounced [roˈβ̞að̞a].

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 47777, this pair ranks #118,165 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of robaba vs robada

Shared letters: abor. Private to "robaba": -. Private to "robada": d.

"robaba" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "robada" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • robabaorbaba · rboaba · roabba · robaab · robabba · robbaa · robbaba · rovava
  • robadaorbada · rboada · roabda · robaad · robadda · robbada · robdaa · rovada

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "robaba" and "robada" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "robaba" is a verb and "robada" a participle, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "robaba" or "robada"?
"robada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,537 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.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "robaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "robada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #118,165 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "robaba" and "robada" 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 #118,165 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