Which to use
“sobran” is a verb and “sobras” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,717
- “sobran” frequency rank
- #18,982
- “sobras” frequency rank
- 31699
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sobran | sobras |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de sobrar. | Parte que queda de algo, especialmente comida, después de usarlo o consumirlo. |
Where the eye mixes sobran and sobras
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. sobran and sobras follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: sobran vs sobras
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sobran is [ˈsoβ̞ɾãn] while sobras is [ˈsoβ̞ɾas]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “sobran” becomes s in “sobras”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31699, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sobran is recorded at frequency rank #12,717, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsoβ̞ɾãn]. sobras is at rank #18,982, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈsoβ̞ɾas].
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 31699, this pair ranks #205,765 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sobran vs sobras
Shared letters: abors. Private to "sobran": n. Private to "sobras": -.
"sobran" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "sobras" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sobran" and "sobras" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "sobran" or "sobras"?
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 "sobran" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sobras" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #205,765 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sobran" and "sobras" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sobras vs sobrios". 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 #205,765 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.