robarvsrobeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,080
“robar” frequency rank
#19,241
“robe” frequency rank
22321
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature robar robe
Definition Quitar o tomar para sí lo ajeno usando la fuerza. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de robar.

Where the eye mixes robar and robe

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

5 ch
robar
4 ch
robe

Look-alike desk: robar vs robe

A purely visual mix-up. robar ([roˈβ̞aɾ]) and robe ([ˈroβ̞e]) 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 22321, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

robar is recorded at frequency rank #3,080, classified as averb, pronounced [roˈβ̞aɾ]. robe is at rank #19,241, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈroβ̞e].

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 22321, this pair ranks #250,875 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of robar vs robe

Shared letters: bor. Private to "robar": a. Private to "robe": e.

"robar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "robe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • robarorbar · rboar · roabr · robarr · robbar · robra · rovar · rrobar
  • roberboe · robbe · roeb · rove · rrobe

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "robar" for "robe" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([roˈβ̞aɾ] versus [ˈroβ̞e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "robar" vs "robe" - which ranks higher?
"robar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,080 in our Spanish list, against #19,241 for "robe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "robar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "robe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #250,875 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "robar" and "robe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "riba vs robe". 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 #250,875 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