Which to use
“sobra” is a noun and “sobria” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,563
- “sobra” frequency rank
- #28,950
- “sobria” frequency rank
- 34513
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sobra | sobria |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Porción de algo que excede su cantidad, peso, valor, límite o tamaño convencionales o habituales. | Forma del femenino singular de sobrio. |
Where the eye mixes sobra and sobria
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between sobra and sobria
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sobra is [ˈsoβ̞ɾa] while sobria is [ˈsoβ̞ɾja]. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34513, 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]. sobria is at rank #28,950, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈsoβ̞ɾja].
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 34513, this pair ranks #191,037 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sobra vs sobria
Shared letters: abors. Private to "sobra": -. Private to "sobria": i.
"sobra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "sobria" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sobra" for "sobria" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sobra" or "sobria" 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 "sobra" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sobria" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #191,037 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sobra" and "sobria" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sobria vs Syria". 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 #191,037 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.