Which to use
“sabe” is a verb and “sam” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #357
- “sabe” frequency rank
- #5,889
- “sam” frequency rank
- 6246
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sabe | sam |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de saber. | Arena. |
Where the eye mixes sabe and sam
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sabe vs sam
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sabe is [ˈsaβ̞e] while sam is /sam/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6246, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sabe is recorded at frequency rank #357, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsaβ̞e]. sam is at rank #5,889, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sam/.
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 6246, this pair ranks #311,345 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sabe vs sam
Shared letters: as. Private to "sabe": be. Private to "sam": m.
"sabe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "sam" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- sabe ← asbe · sabbe · saeb · sbae · ssabe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sabe" for "sam" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sabe" or "sam" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sabe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sam" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #311,345 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sabe" and "sam" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sam vs stem". 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 #311,345 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.