Which to use
“lápiz” is a noun and “López” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,853
- “lápiz” frequency rank
- #1,321
- “López” frequency rank
- 11174
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lápiz | López |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Instrumento que se utiliza para escribir y dibujar constituído por una barra de grafito contenida en un cilindro de madera que actúa de protección. | Apellido español, patronímico derivado del nombre propio de Lope. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lápiz and López apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lápiz and López form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11174, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lápiz is recorded at frequency rank #9,853, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlapis]. López is at rank #1,321, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈlopes].
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 11174, this pair ranks #296,029 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lápiz" and "López" be used interchangeably?
Remembering lápiz vs López
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “lápiz”; for a name, it's “López”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lápiz” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable