abejavsalejeWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#17,019
“abeja” frequency rank
#24,717
“aleje” frequency rank
41736
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature abeja aleje
Definition (Apis spp.) Insecto himenóptero volador, de color pardo oscuro, y que según las especies puede vivir en solitario o formando grandes colonias. Poseen un aguijón capaz de producir una picadura muy dolorosa. Se alimentan del polen y del néctar de las flores, contribuyendo eficazmente a su polinización. Las especies sociales pueden llegar a producir grandes cantidades de miel, polen y cera, por lo que han sido utilizadas por el hombre para su beneficio desde tiempos muy remotos. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de alejar o de alejarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set abeja and aleje apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
abeja
5 ch
aleje

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: abeja is [aˈβ̞exa] while aleje is [aˈlexe]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41736, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

abeja is recorded at frequency rank #17,019, classified as anoun, pronounced [aˈβ̞exa]. aleje is at rank #24,717, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈlexe].

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 41736, this pair ranks #152,060 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of abeja vs aleje

Shared letters: aej. Private to "abeja": b. Private to "aleje": l.

"abeja" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "aleje" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • abejaabbeja · abeaj · abejja · abjea · aebja · aveja · baeja
  • alejeaelje · aleej · alejje · aljee · alleje · laeje

Frequency comparison

abeja#17,019
aleje#24,717

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "abeja" and "aleje" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "abeja" is a noun and "aleje" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "abeja" or "aleje"?
"abeja" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,019 in our Spanish list, against #24,717 for "aleje". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering abeja vs aleje

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “abeja”; for a verb, it's “aleje”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “abeja” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list