Which to use
“sobra” is a noun and “sobre” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,563
- “sobra” frequency rank
- #47
- “sobre” frequency rank
- 5610
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sobra | sobre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Porción de algo que excede su cantidad, peso, valor, límite o tamaño convencionales o habituales. | En la parte superior de algo. |
Where the eye mixes sobra and sobre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sobra vs sobre
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sobra is [ˈsoβ̞ɾa] while sobre is [ˈsoβ̞ɾe]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “sobra” becomes e in “sobre”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5610, 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]. sobre is at rank #47, tagged as aprep, pronounced [ˈsoβ̞ɾe].
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 5610, this pair ranks #313,180 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sobra vs sobre
Shared letters: bors. Private to "sobra": a. Private to "sobre": e.
"sobra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "sobre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sobra" and "sobre" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sobra" or "sobre" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "sobra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sobre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #313,180 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sobra" and "sobre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sobra vs solera". 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 #313,180 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.