sobravssopaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“sobra” and “sopa” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,563
“sobra” frequency rank
#5,673
“sopa” frequency rank
11236
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sobra sopa
Definition Porción de algo que excede su cantidad, peso, valor, límite o tamaño convencionales o habituales. Preparación liquida y cocida junto con otros ingredientes como carne o verduras.

Where the eye mixes sobra and sopa

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
sobra
4 ch
sopa

Why the eye confuses sobra with sopa

A purely visual mix-up. sobra ([ˈsoβ̞ɾa]) and sopa ([ˈsopa]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11236, 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]. sopa is at rank #5,673, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsopa].

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 11236, this pair ranks #295,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of sobra vs sopa

Shared letters: aos. Private to "sobra": br. Private to "sopa": p.

"sobra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "sopa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sobraosbra · sbora · sobar · sobbra · sobrra · sorba · sovra · ssobra
  • sopaospa · soap · soppa · spoa · ssopa

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "sobra" and "sopa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsoβ̞ɾa] versus [ˈsopa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sobra" or "sopa"?
"sobra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,563 in our Spanish list, against #5,673 for "sopa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "sobra" and "sopa" 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 "sopa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #295,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sobra" and "sopa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sila vs sopa". 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 #295,823 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list