Which to use
“sabe” is a verb and “sala” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #357
- “sabe” frequency rank
- #1,067
- “sala” frequency rank
- 1424
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sabe | sala |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de saber. | Pieza principal de la casa, donde se reciben las visitas de cumplimiento. |
Where the eye mixes sabe and sala
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sabe with sala
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sabe is [ˈsaβ̞e] while sala is [ˈsala]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1424, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sabe is recorded at frequency rank #357, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsaβ̞e]. sala is at rank #1,067, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsala].
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 1424, this pair ranks #322,084 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sabe vs sala
Shared letters: as. Private to "sabe": be. Private to "sala": l.
"sabe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "sala" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sabe" for "sala" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sabe" or "sala" show up more?
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 "sala" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #322,084 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sabe" and "sala" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sala vs sila". 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 #322,084 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.