Which to use
“lab” is an adjective and “ll” is a character - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #17,186
- “lab” frequency rank
- #15,141
- “ll” frequency rank
- 32327
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lab | ll |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Propio o relacionado con el laboratorio. | Dígrafo que fue considerado -entre 1754 y 2010- como la decimocuarta letra del alfabeto español y su undécima consonante, pero ya no lo es. Su nombre es femenino: la elle, doble ele, plural es elles. En la mayoría de los países hispánicos se pronuncia como y. Es indivisible en la escritura. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lab and ll apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lab and ll form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32327, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lab is recorded at frequency rank #17,186, classified as anadj, pronounced /læb/. ll is at rank #15,141, tagged as acharacter, pronounced [ˈl].
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 32327, this pair ranks #202,547 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lab" and "ll" be used interchangeably?
Remembering lab vs ll
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “lab”; for a character, it's “ll”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lab” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable