sobrasvssobriaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: sobras is a noun, sobria is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sobras” is a noun and “sobria” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,982
“sobras” frequency rank
#28,950
“sobria” frequency rank
47932
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sobras sobria
Definition Parte que queda de algo, especialmente comida, después de usarlo o consumirlo. Forma del femenino singular de sobrio.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
sobras
6 ch
sobria

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sobras is [ˈsoβ̞ɾas] 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47932, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sobras is recorded at frequency rank #18,982, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈsoβ̞ɾas]. 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 47932, this pair ranks #117,272 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sobras vs sobria

Shared letters: abors. Private to "sobras": -. Private to "sobria": i.

"sobras" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "sobria" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sobrasosbras · sboras · sobars · sobbras · sobrass · sobrras · sobrsa · sorbas
  • sobriaosbria · sboria · sobbria · sobira · sobrai · sobrria · sorbia · sovria

Frequency comparison

sobras#18,982
sobria#28,950

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sobras" and "sobria" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sobras" is a noun and "sobria" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sobras" or "sobria"?
"sobras" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,982 in our Spanish list, against #28,950 for "sobria". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sobras vs sobria

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sobras”; for an adjective, it's “sobria”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sobras” 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