AlejavsaléjateWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: Aleja is a name, aléjate is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Aleja” is a name and “aléjate” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,443
“Aleja” frequency rank
#30,329
“aléjate” frequency rank
40772
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Aleja aléjate
Definition Nombre de pila de mujer. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del imperativo afirmativo de alejarse (con el pronombre enclítico).

Where the eye mixes Aleja and aléjate

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. Aleja runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against aléjate's 7 (VCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Aleja
7 ch
aléjate

Why the eye confuses Aleja with aléjate

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Aleja is [aˈlexa] while aléjate is [aˈlexat̪e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40772, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Aleja is recorded at frequency rank #10,443, classified as aname, pronounced [aˈlexa]. aléjate is at rank #30,329, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈlexat̪e].

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 40772, this pair ranks #157,303 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Aleja vs aléjate

Shared letters: aejl. Private to "Aleja": -. Private to "aléjate": té.

"Aleja" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV  ·  "aléjate" · 7 letters · shape VCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Aleja ← aelja · aleaj · alejja · aljea · alleja · laeja

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Aleja" and "aléjate" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Aleja" is a name and "aléjate" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "Aleja" or "aléjate" show up more?
"Aleja" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,443 in our Spanish list, against #30,329 for "aléjate". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Aleja" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "aléjate" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #157,303 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Aleja" and "aléjate" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "alejaba vs aléjate". 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 #157,303 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