Which to use
“sobre” is a preposition and “sobria” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #47
- “sobre” frequency rank
- #28,950
- “sobria” frequency rank
- 28997
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sobre | sobria |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | En la parte superior de algo. | Forma del femenino singular de sobrio. |
Where the eye mixes sobre and sobria
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sobre vs sobria
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sobre is [ˈsoβ̞ɾe] while sobria is [ˈsoβ̞ɾja]. 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 (preposition vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28997, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sobre is recorded at frequency rank #47, classified as aprep, pronounced [ˈsoβ̞ɾe]. 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 28997, this pair ranks #219,226 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of sobre vs sobria
Shared letters: bors. Private to "sobre": e. Private to "sobria": ai.
"sobre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "sobria" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sobre" for "sobria" ever safe?
Which is more common, "sobre" or "sobria"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "sobre" 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 #219,226 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sobre" 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 #219,226 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.