labiosvslabsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#3,056
“labios” frequency rank
#36,642
“labs” frequency rank
39698
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature labios labs
Definition Forma del plural de labio. Forma del plural de lab.

Where the eye mixes labios and labs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. labios runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against labs's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
labios
4 ch
labs

Why the eye confuses labios with labs

A purely visual mix-up. labios ([ˈlaβ̞jos]) and labs (/læbz/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39698, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

labios is recorded at frequency rank #3,056, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlaβ̞jos]. labs is at rank #36,642, tagged as anoun, pronounced /læbz/.

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 39698, this pair ranks #163,125 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of labios vs labs

Shared letters: abls. Private to "labios": io. Private to "labs": -.

"labios" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "labs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • labios ← albios · labbios · labioss · labiso · labois · laibos · lavios · lbaios
  • labs ← albs · labbs · labss · lasb · lavs · llabs

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "labios" and "labs" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlaβ̞jos] versus /læbz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "labios" or "labs" show up more?
"labios" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,056 in our Spanish list, against #36,642 for "labs". 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 "labios" and "labs" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "labios" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "labs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #163,125 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "labios" and "labs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "labs vs lies". 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 #163,125 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