sobrar vs sogra, What's the Difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set sobrar and sogra apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

sobrar

5 ch

sogra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

Frequency comparison

sobrar#19,849

sogra#10,967

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

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.

Remembering sobrar vs sogra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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