laborvslabsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,118
“labor” frequency rank
#36,642
“labs” frequency rank
38760
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature labor labs
Definition Acción o efecto de trabajar. Forma del plural de lab.

Where the eye mixes labor and labs

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
labor
4 ch
labs

Look-alike desk: labor vs labs

A purely visual mix-up. labor ([laˈβ̞oɾ]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

labor is recorded at frequency rank #2,118, classified as anoun, pronounced [laˈβ̞oɾ]. 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 38760, this pair ranks #168,233 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of labor vs labs

Shared letters: abl. Private to "labor": or. Private to "labs": s.

"labor" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "labs" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laboralbor · labbor · laborr · labro · laobr · lavor · lbaor · llabor
  • labsalbs · labbs · labss · lasb · lavs · llabs

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "labor" and "labs" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([laˈβ̞oɾ] versus /læbz/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "labor" or "labs" show up more?
"labor" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,118 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

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "labor" 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 #168,233 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "labor" 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 #168,233 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