sobrarvssograConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#19,849
“sobrar” frequency rank
#10,967
“sogra” frequency rank
30816
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sobrar sogra
Definition subsistir como resto, sobra ou remanescente; existir ou estar ainda disponível; conservar-se, ficar, restar, permanecer mãe do(a) cônjuge

Where the eye mixes sobrar and sogra

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. sobrar runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against sogra's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
sobrar
5 ch
sogra

Visual trap between sobrar and sogra

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: sobrar is /su.ˈbɾaɾ/ while sogra is /ˈsɔ.ɡɾɐ/. 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 30816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

sobrar is recorded at frequency rank #19,849, classified as averb, pronounced /su.ˈbɾaɾ/. sogra is at rank #10,967, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɔ.ɡɾɐ/.

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 30816, this pair ranks #37,442 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sobrar vs sogra

Shared letters: aors. Private to "sobrar": b. Private to "sogra": g.

"sobrar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "sogra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sobrar ← osbrar · sborar · sobarr · sobbrar · sobrarr · sobrra · sobrrar · sorbar
  • sogra ← osgra · sgora · sogar · soggra · sogrra · sorga · ssogra

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sobrar" and "sogra" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sobrar" is a verb and "sogra" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sobrar" or "sogra"?
"sogra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,967 in our Portuguese list, against #19,849 for "sobrar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "sobrar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "sogra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #37,442 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "sobrar" and "sogra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sobrar vs sondar". 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 #37,442 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list