sobradovssobranWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sobrado is a adjective, sobran is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sobrado” is an adjective and “sobran” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,781
“sobrado” frequency rank
#12,717
“sobran” frequency rank
40498
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sobrado sobran
Definition Que sobra o es más abundante de lo necesario. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de sobrar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sobrado and sobran apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
sobrado
6 ch
sobran

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sobrado is [soˈβ̞ɾað̞o] while sobran is [ˈsoβ̞ɾãn]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40498, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sobrado is recorded at frequency rank #27,781, classified as anadj, pronounced [soˈβ̞ɾað̞o]. sobran is at rank #12,717, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsoβ̞ɾãn].

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 40498, this pair ranks #158,752 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sobrado vs sobran

Shared letters: abors. Private to "sobrado": d. Private to "sobran": n.

"sobrado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "sobran" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sobradoosbrado · sborado · sobardo · sobbrado · sobraddo · sobraod · sobrdao · sobrrado
  • sobranosbran · sboran · sobarn · sobbran · sobrann · sobrna · sobrran · sorban

Frequency comparison

sobrado#27,781
sobran#12,717

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sobrado" and "sobran" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sobrado" is an adjective and "sobran" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sobrado" or "sobran"?
"sobran" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,717 in our Spanish list, against #27,781 for "sobrado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sobrado vs sobran

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “sobrado”; for a verb, it's “sobran”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sobrado” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list