salgavssamaWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#2,186
“salga” frequency rank
#27,004
“sama” frequency rank
29190
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature salga sama
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de salgar. Igual

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
salga
4 ch
sama

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: salga is [ˈsalɣ̞a] while sama is [ˈsa.ma]. 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 29190, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

salga is recorded at frequency rank #2,186, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsalɣ̞a]. sama is at rank #27,004, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈsa.ma].

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 29190, this pair ranks #218,256 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of salga vs sama

Shared letters: as. Private to "salga": gl. Private to "sama": m.

"salga" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "sama" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • salgaaslga · sagla · salag · salgga · sallga · slaga · ssalga
  • samasaam · samma · smaa · ssama

Frequency comparison

salga#2,186
sama#27,004

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "salga" and "sama" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "salga" is a verb and "sama" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "salga" or "sama"?
"salga" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,186 in our Spanish list, against #27,004 for "sama". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering salga vs sama

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “salga”; for an adjective, it's “sama”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “salga” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list