alejarvsalejasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“alejar” and “alejas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,531
“alejar” frequency rank
#40,626
“alejas” frequency rank
56157
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alejar alejas
Definition Poner o llevar lejos o a mayor distancia. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de alejar o de alejarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alejar and alejas apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
alejar
6 ch
alejas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alejar ([aleˈxaɾ]) and alejas ([aˈlexas]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - r in “alejar” becomes s in “alejas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56157, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alejar is recorded at frequency rank #15,531, classified as averb, pronounced [aleˈxaɾ]. alejas is at rank #40,626, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈlexas].

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 56157, this pair ranks #75,799 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alejar vs alejas

Shared letters: aejl. Private to "alejar": r. Private to "alejas": s.

"alejar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "alejas" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alejaraeljar · aleajr · alejarr · alejjar · alejra · aljear · allejar · laejar
  • alejasaeljas · aleajs · alejass · alejjas · alejsa · aljeas · allejas · laejas

Frequency comparison

alejar#15,531
alejas#40,626

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alejar" and "alejas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aleˈxaɾ] versus [aˈlexas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alejar" or "alejas"?
"alejar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,531 in our Spanish list, against #40,626 for "alejas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alejar vs alejas

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alejar” 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