Which to use
“sabe” and “sube” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #357
- “sabe” frequency rank
- #2,528
- “sube” frequency rank
- 2885
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sabe | sube |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de saber. | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de subir o de subirse. |
Where the eye mixes sabe and sube
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses sabe with sube
A purely visual mix-up. sabe ([ˈsaβ̞e]) and sube ([ˈsuβ̞e]) 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 a single letter - a in “sabe” becomes u in “sube”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2885, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sabe is recorded at frequency rank #357, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsaβ̞e]. sube is at rank #2,528, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsuβ̞e].
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 2885, this pair ranks #319,466 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sabe vs sube
Shared letters: bes. Private to "sabe": a. Private to "sube": u.
"sabe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "sube" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sabe" and "sube" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sabe" or "sube" show up more?
After this comparison
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 "sube" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #319,466 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sabe" and "sube" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sube 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 #319,466 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.