Which to use
“sobra” is a noun and “sobraba” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,563
- “sobra” frequency rank
- #42,700
- “sobraba” frequency rank
- 48263
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sobra | sobraba |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Porción de algo que excede su cantidad, peso, valor, límite o tamaño convencionales o habituales. | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de sobrar. |
Where the eye mixes sobra and sobraba
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sobra and sobraba
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sobra is [ˈsoβ̞ɾa] while sobraba is [soˈβ̞ɾaβ̞a]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “sobra” sits inside “sobraba”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48263, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sobra is recorded at frequency rank #5,563, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsoβ̞ɾa]. sobraba is at rank #42,700, tagged as averb, pronounced [soˈβ̞ɾaβ̞a].
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 48263, this pair ranks #115,439 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sobra vs sobraba
Shared letters: abors. Private to "sobra": -. Private to "sobraba": -.
"sobra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "sobraba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sobra" and "sobraba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sobra" or "sobraba" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "sobra" and "sobraba" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sobra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sobraba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #115,439 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sobra" and "sobraba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sobraba vs soltaba". 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 #115,439 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.