trabajévstrabajoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: trabajé is a verb, trabajo is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“trabajé” is a verb and “trabajo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#12,497
“trabajé” frequency rank
#119
“trabajo” frequency rank
12616
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature trabajé trabajo
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de trabajar. Acción o efecto de trabajar (ocuparse en una actividad).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set trabajé and trabajo apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
trabajé
7 ch
trabajo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: trabajé is [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxe] while trabajo is [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - é in “trabajé” becomes o in “trabajo”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12616, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

trabajé is recorded at frequency rank #12,497, classified as averb, pronounced [t̪ɾaβ̞aˈxe]. trabajo is at rank #119, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t̪ɾaˈβ̞axo].

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 12616, this pair ranks #290,891 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of trabajé vs trabajo

Shared letters: abjrt. Private to "trabajé": é. Private to "trabajo": o.

"trabajé" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "trabajo" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trabajortabajo · tarbajo · traabjo · trabajjo · trabaoj · trabbajo · trabjao · travajo

Frequency comparison

trabajé#12,497
trabajo#119

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "trabajé" and "trabajo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "trabajé" is a verb and "trabajo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "trabajé" or "trabajo"?
"trabajo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #119 in our Spanish list, against #12,497 for "trabajé". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering trabajé vs trabajo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “trabajé”; for a noun, it's “trabajo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “trabajé” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list