lavslowConfusable pair

Quick tell: la is a article, low is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“la” is an article and “low” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2
“la” frequency rank
#13,737
“low” frequency rank
13739
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature la low
Definition Artículo determinado femenino singular. Bajo.

Where the eye mixes la and low

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch
la
3 ch
low

Why the eye confuses la with low

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: la is [la] while low is /ləʊ/. 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 (article vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13739, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

la is recorded at frequency rank #2, classified as anarticle, pronounced [la]. low is at rank #13,737, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ləʊ/.

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 13739, this pair ranks #286,737 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of la vs low

Shared letters: l. Private to "la": a. Private to "low": ow.

"la" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "low" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "la" for "low" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "la" is an article and "low" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "la" vs "low" - which ranks higher?
"la" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2 in our Spanish list, against #13,737 for "low". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "la" and "low" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "la" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "low" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #286,737 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "la" and "low" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lac vs low". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #286,737 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