sobrabavssubrayaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#42,700
“sobraba” frequency rank
#16,709
“subraya” frequency rank
59409
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sobraba subraya
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de sobrar. Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de subrayar.

Where the eye mixes sobraba and subraya

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
sobraba
7 ch
subraya

Look-alike desk: sobraba vs subraya

A purely visual mix-up. sobraba ([soˈβ̞ɾaβ̞a]) and subraya ([suˈβ̞ɾaʝa]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59409, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sobraba is recorded at frequency rank #42,700, classified as averb, pronounced [soˈβ̞ɾaβ̞a]. subraya is at rank #16,709, tagged as averb, pronounced [suˈβ̞ɾaʝa].

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 59409, this pair ranks #62,735 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sobraba vs subraya

Shared letters: abrs. Private to "sobraba": o. Private to "subraya": uy.

"sobraba" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "subraya" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sobrabaosbraba · sboraba · sobarba · sobbraba · sobraab · sobrabba · sobrbaa · sobrraba
  • subrayasburaya · ssubraya · subarya · subbraya · subraay · subrayya · subrraya · subryaa

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "sobraba" for "subraya" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([soˈβ̞ɾaβ̞a] versus [suˈβ̞ɾaʝa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sobraba" or "subraya" show up more?
"subraya" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,709 in our Spanish list, against #42,700 for "sobraba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "sobraba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "subraya" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #62,735 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sobraba" and "subraya" 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 #62,735 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