Which to use
“trabaja” and “trabajar” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,460
- “trabaja” frequency rank
- #518
- “trabajar” frequency rank
- 1978
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trabaja | trabajar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de trabajar. | Realizar una actividad sea física o mental. |
Where the eye mixes trabaja and trabajar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between trabaja and trabajar
A purely visual mix-up. trabaja ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axa]) and trabajar ([t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxaɾ]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “trabaja” sits inside “trabajar”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
trabaja is recorded at frequency rank #1,460, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axa]. trabajar is at rank #518, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxaɾ].
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 1978, this pair ranks #321,177 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of trabaja vs trabajar
Shared letters: abjrt. Private to "trabaja": -. Private to "trabajar": -.
"trabaja" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "trabajar" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "trabaja" and "trabajar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "trabaja" or "trabajar" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "trabaja" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trabajar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #321,177 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trabaja" and "trabajar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trabada vs trabaja". 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 #321,177 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.