Which to use
“lances” and “lentes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,279
- “lances” frequency rank
- #6,557
- “lentes” frequency rank
- 50836
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lances | lentes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de lance. | Instrumento óptico formado por un marco o armazón que soporta sendas lentes unidas por un arco que se apoya en la nariz, y dos patillas que ayudan a sostenerlas. Se usan para compensar defectos en la visión, protección o simplemente por motivos estéticos. |
Where the eye mixes lances and lentes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lances and lentes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between lances and lentes
A purely visual mix-up. lances ([ˈlãnses]) and lentes ([ˈlẽn̪t̪es]) 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 50836, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lances is recorded at frequency rank #44,279, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlãnses]. lentes is at rank #6,557, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlẽn̪t̪es].
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 50836, this pair ranks #101,093 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lances vs lentes
Shared letters: elns. Private to "lances": ac. Private to "lentes": t.
"lances" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "lentes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lances" and "lentes" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lances" or "lentes"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lances" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lentes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #101,093 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lances" and "lentes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lanceros vs lances". 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 #101,093 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.