trabajasvstrabajasteTell them apart

Which to use

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

#9,377
“trabajas” frequency rank
#45,647
“trabajaste” frequency rank
55024
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trabajas trabajaste
Definition Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de trabajar. Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de trabajar.

Where the eye mixes trabajas and trabajaste

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

8 ch
trabajas
10 ch
trabajaste

Visual trap between trabajas and trabajaste

A purely visual mix-up. trabajas ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axas]) and trabajaste ([t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxast̪e]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “trabajas” sits inside “trabajaste”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55024, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trabajas is recorded at frequency rank #9,377, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axas]. trabajaste is at rank #45,647, tagged as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxast̪e].

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 55024, this pair ranks #80,742 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of trabajas vs trabajaste

Shared letters: abjrst. Private to "trabajas": -. Private to "trabajaste": e.

"trabajas" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC  ·  "trabajaste" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trabajasrtabajas · tarbajas · traabjas · trabaajs · trabajass · trabajjas · trabajsa · trabbajas
  • trabajastertabajaste · tarbajaste · traabjaste · trabaajste · trabajaset · trabajasste · trabajastte · trabajatse

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "trabajas" for "trabajaste" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([t̪ɾaˈβ̞axas] versus [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxast̪e]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "trabajas" or "trabajaste" show up more?
"trabajas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,377 in our Spanish list, against #45,647 for "trabajaste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "trabajas" and "trabajaste" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "trabajas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "trabajaste" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #80,742 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "trabajas" and "trabajaste" 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 #80,742 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