sabevssabéisWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#357
“sabe” frequency rank
#6,232
“sabéis” frequency rank
6589
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sabe sabéis
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de saber. Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de indicativo de saber.

Where the eye mixes sabe and sabéis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. sabe runs 4 letters (CVCV) against sabéis's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
sabe
6 ch
sabéis

Why the eye confuses sabe with sabéis

A purely visual mix-up. sabe ([ˈsaβ̞e]) and sabéis ([saˈβ̞ejs]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6589, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sabe is recorded at frequency rank #357, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsaβ̞e]. sabéis is at rank #6,232, tagged as averb, pronounced [saˈβ̞ejs].

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 6589, this pair ranks #310,325 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sabe vs sabéis

Shared letters: abs. Private to "sabe": e. Private to "sabéis": ié.

"sabe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "sabéis" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sabe ← asbe · sabbe · saeb · sbae · ssabe

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sabe" and "sabéis" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsaβ̞e] versus [saˈβ̞ejs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "sabe" vs "sabéis" - which ranks higher?
"sabe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #357 in our Spanish list, against #6,232 for "sabéis". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "sabe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sabéis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #310,325 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sabe" and "sabéis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sabéis vs subís". 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 #310,325 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