sabéisvssabiaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sabéis is a verb, sabia is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sabéis” is a verb and “sabia” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,232
“sabéis” frequency rank
#3,736
“sabia” frequency rank
9968
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sabéis sabia
Definition Segunda persona del plural (vosotros, vosotras) del presente de indicativo de saber. Forma del femenino singular de sabio.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sabéis and sabia apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
sabéis
5 ch
sabia

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sabéis is [saˈβ̞ejs] while sabia is [ˈsaβ̞ja]. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9968, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sabéis is recorded at frequency rank #6,232, classified as averb, pronounced [saˈβ̞ejs]. sabia is at rank #3,736, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈsaβ̞ja].

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 9968, this pair ranks #300,257 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sabéis vs sabia

Shared letters: abis. Private to "sabéis": é. Private to "sabia": -.

"sabéis" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "sabia" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sabiaasbia · sabai · sabbia · saiba · sbaia · ssabia

Frequency comparison

sabéis#6,232
sabia#3,736

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sabéis" and "sabia" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sabéis" is a verb and "sabia" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sabéis" or "sabia"?
"sabia" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,736 in our Spanish list, against #6,232 for "sabéis". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sabéis vs sabia

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “sabéis”; for an adjective, it's “sabia”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sabéis” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list