trabajanvstrabajasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,750
“trabajan” frequency rank
#9,377
“trabajas” frequency rank
12127
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trabajan trabajas
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de trabajar. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de trabajar.

Where the eye mixes trabajan and trabajas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. trabajan and trabajas follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
trabajan
8 ch
trabajas

Look-alike desk: trabajan vs trabajas

A purely visual mix-up. trabajan ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axãn]) 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 a single letter - n in “trabajan” becomes s in “trabajas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12127, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trabajan is recorded at frequency rank #2,750, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axãn]. 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 12127, this pair ranks #292,641 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of trabajan vs trabajas

Shared letters: abjrt. Private to "trabajan": n. Private to "trabajas": s.

"trabajan" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC  ·  "trabajas" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trabajan ← rtabajan · tarbajan · traabjan · trabaajn · trabajann · trabajjan · trabajna · trabbajan
  • trabajas ← rtabajas · tarbajas · traabjas · trabaajs · trabajass · trabajjas · trabajsa · trabbajas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "trabajan" and "trabajas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axãn] versus [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "trabajan" vs "trabajas" - which ranks higher?
"trabajan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,750 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

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "trabajan" 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 #292,641 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "trabajan" 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 #292,641 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