Which to use
“trabaja” is a verb and “trabas” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,460
- “trabaja” frequency rank
- #15,242
- “trabas” frequency rank
- 16702
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | trabaja | trabas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de trabajar. | Forma del plural de traba. |
Where the eye mixes trabaja and trabas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. trabaja 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: trabaja vs trabas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: trabaja is [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axa] 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 16702, 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]. 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 16702, this pair ranks #275,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of trabaja vs trabas
Shared letters: abrt. Private to "trabaja": j. Private to "trabas": s.
"trabaja" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV · "trabas" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "trabaja" and "trabas" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "trabaja" or "trabas" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "trabaja" and "trabas" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "trabaja" 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 #275,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "trabaja" and "trabas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trabas vs turbas". 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 #275,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.