trabajavstrabajasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,460
“trabaja” frequency rank
#9,377
“trabajas” frequency rank
10837
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trabaja trabajas
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de trabajar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de trabajar.

Where the eye mixes trabaja and trabajas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

7 ch
trabaja
8 ch
trabajas

Look-alike desk: trabaja vs trabajas

A purely visual mix-up. trabaja ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axa]) and trabajas ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axas]) 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 “trabajas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10837, 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]. trabajas is at rank #9,377, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axas].

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 10837, this pair ranks #297,208 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of trabaja vs trabajas

Shared letters: abjrt. Private to "trabaja": -. Private to "trabajas": s.

"trabaja" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "trabajas" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trabajartabaja · tarbaja · traabja · trabaaj · trabajja · trabbaja · trabjaa · travaja
  • trabajasrtabajas · tarbajas · traabjas · trabaajs · trabajass · trabajjas · trabajsa · trabbajas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "trabaja" and "trabajas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axa] versus [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "trabaja" or "trabajas" show up more?
"trabaja" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,460 in our Spanish list, against #9,377 for "trabajas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "trabajas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #297,208 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "trabaja" and "trabajas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trabajas vs trazadas". 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 #297,208 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