Which to use
“sobran” is a verb and “sobria” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,717
- “sobran” frequency rank
- #28,950
- “sobria” frequency rank
- 41667
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sobran | sobria |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de sobrar. | Forma del femenino singular de sobrio. |
Where the eye mixes sobran and sobria
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. sobran (CVCCVC) and sobria (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between sobran and sobria
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sobran is [ˈsoβ̞ɾãn] while sobria is [ˈsoβ̞ɾja]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41667, 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]. 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 41667, this pair ranks #152,394 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sobran vs sobria
Shared letters: abors. Private to "sobran": n. Private to "sobria": i.
"sobran" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "sobria" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "sobran" and "sobria" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sobran" or "sobria" show up more?
What to do next
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 "sobria" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #152,394 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sobran" 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 #152,394 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.