Which to use
“trabado” is a verb and “trabas” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,791
- “trabado” frequency rank
- #15,242
- “trabas” frequency rank
- 51033
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trabado | trabas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participio de trabar. | Forma del plural de traba. |
Where the eye mixes trabado and trabas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. trabado runs 7 letters (CCVCVCV) against trabas's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: trabado vs trabas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: trabado is [t̪ɾaˈβ̞að̞o] while trabas is [ˈt̪ɾaβ̞as]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51033, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
trabado is recorded at frequency rank #35,791, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈβ̞að̞o]. trabas is at rank #15,242, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈt̪ɾaβ̞as].
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 51033, this pair ranks #100,042 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of trabado vs trabas
Shared letters: abrt. Private to "trabado": do. Private to "trabas": s.
"trabado" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "trabas" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "trabado" for "trabas" ever safe?
Frequency check: "trabado" vs "trabas" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "trabado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trabas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #100,042 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trabado" and "trabas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trabada vs trabado". 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 #100,042 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.