subasvssubenTell them apart

Which to use

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

#22,872
“subas” frequency rank
#7,492
“suben” frequency rank
30364
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature subas suben
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de subjuntivo de subir o de subirse. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de subir o de subirse.

Where the eye mixes subas and suben

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
subas
5 ch
suben

Why the eye confuses subas with suben

A purely visual mix-up. subas ([ˈsuβ̞as]) and suben ([ˈsuβ̞ẽn]) 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 30364, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

subas is recorded at frequency rank #22,872, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsuβ̞as]. suben is at rank #7,492, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈsuβ̞ẽn].

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 30364, this pair ranks #212,369 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of subas vs suben

Shared letters: bsu. Private to "subas": a. Private to "suben": en.

"subas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "suben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • subassbuas · ssubas · suabs · subass · subbas · subsa · suvas · usbas
  • subensbuen · ssuben · subben · subenn · subne · suebn · suven · usben

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "subas" for "suben" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈsuβ̞as] versus [ˈsuβ̞ẽn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "subas" or "suben"?
"suben" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,492 in our Spanish list, against #22,872 for "subas". 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 "subas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "suben" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #212,369 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "subas" and "suben" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "subas vs subís". 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 #212,369 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