sabe vs sabéis, What's the Difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sabe and sabéis apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

sabe

6 ch

sabéis

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

sabe#357

sabéis#6,232

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sabe" and "sabéis" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently ([ˈsaβ̞e] versus [saˈβ̞ejs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "sabe" or "sabéis"?

"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.

Remembering sabe vs sabéis

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sabe” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable