laborarvsllorarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#39,309
“laborar” frequency rank
#2,617
“llorar” frequency rank
41926
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laborar llorar
Definition Variante de labrar. Derramar lágrimas.

Where the eye mixes laborar and llorar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. laborar runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against llorar's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
laborar
6 ch
llorar

Look-alike desk: laborar vs llorar

A purely visual mix-up. laborar ([laβ̞oˈɾaɾ]) and llorar ([ʝoˈɾaɾ]) 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 41926, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laborar is recorded at frequency rank #39,309, classified as averb, pronounced [laβ̞oˈɾaɾ]. llorar is at rank #2,617, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝoˈɾaɾ].

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 41926, this pair ranks #151,039 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laborar vs llorar

Shared letters: alor. Private to "laborar": b. Private to "llorar": -.

"laborar" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "llorar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • laborar ← alborar · labborar · laboarr · laborarr · laborra · laborrar · labroar · laobrar
  • llorar ← lloarr · llorarr · llorra · llorrar · llroar · lolrar · lorar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laborar" and "llorar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([laβ̞oˈɾaɾ] versus [ʝoˈɾaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "laborar" or "llorar"?
"llorar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,617 in our Spanish list, against #39,309 for "laborar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "laborar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "llorar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #151,039 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "laborar" and "llorar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "labora vs laborar". 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 #151,039 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