alejarvsalejesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,531
“alejar” frequency rank
#35,860
“alejes” frequency rank
51391
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
alejar
6 ch
alejes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alejar ([aleˈxaɾ]) and alejes ([aˈlexes]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51391, 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]. alejes is at rank #35,860, tagged as averb, pronounced [aˈlexes].

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 51391, this pair ranks #98,107 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alejar vs alejes

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

"alejar" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "alejes" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alejaraeljar · aleajr · alejarr · alejjar · alejra · aljear · allejar · laejar
  • alejesaeljes · aleejs · alejess · alejjes · alejse · aljees · allejes · laejes

Frequency comparison

alejar#15,531
alejes#35,860

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alejar" and "alejes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([aleˈxaɾ] versus [aˈlexes]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alejar" or "alejes"?
"alejar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,531 in our Spanish list, against #35,860 for "alejes". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alejar vs alejes

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