sobranvssoplanWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#12,717
“sobran” frequency rank
#45,024
“soplan” frequency rank
57741
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sobran soplan
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de sobrar. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de soplar.

Where the eye mixes sobran and soplan

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sobran and soplan follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

6 ch
sobran
6 ch
soplan

Why the eye confuses sobran with soplan

A purely visual mix-up. sobran ([ˈsoβ̞ɾãn]) and soplan ([ˈsoplãn]) 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 57741, 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]. soplan is at rank #45,024, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsoplãn].

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 57741, this pair ranks #69,287 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sobran vs soplan

Shared letters: anos. Private to "sobran": br. Private to "soplan": lp.

"sobran" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "soplan" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sobran ← osbran · sboran · sobarn · sobbran · sobrann · sobrna · sobrran · sorban
  • soplan ← osplan · solpan · sopaln · soplann · sopllan · soplna · sopplan · spolan

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sobran" and "soplan" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsoβ̞ɾãn] versus [ˈsoplãn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "sobran" or "soplan"?
"sobran" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,717 in our Spanish list, against #45,024 for "soplan". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sobran" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "soplan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #69,287 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sobran" and "soplan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "soplan vs soplando". 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 #69,287 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