Which to use
“lance” and “lente” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,732
- “lance” frequency rank
- #13,946
- “lente” frequency rank
- 27678
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lance | lente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | En el poema dramático y en la novela, suceso, acontecimiento, situación interesante o notable. | Disco de vidrio u otra sustancia transparente que por su forma refracta la luz procedente de un objeto y forma una imagen de éste. |
Where the eye mixes lance and lente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lance vs lente
A purely visual mix-up. lance ([ˈlãnse]) and lente ([ˈlẽn̪t̪e]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27678, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lance is recorded at frequency rank #13,732, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlãnse]. lente is at rank #13,946, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlẽn̪t̪e].
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 27678, this pair ranks #225,683 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lance vs lente
Shared letters: eln. Private to "lance": ac. Private to "lente": t.
"lance" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "lente" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lance" for "lente" ever safe?
Which is more common, "lance" or "lente"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lance" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,683 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lance" and "lente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lente vs llené". 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 #225,683 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.