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 eye mixes lápiz and López
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lápiz with López
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lápiz is [ˈlapis] while López is [ˈlopes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. 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.
Orthographic DNA of lápiz vs López
Shared letters: lpz. Private to "lápiz": iá. Private to "López": eó.
"lápiz" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "López" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lápiz" and "López" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "lápiz" or "López" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "lápiz" and "López" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lápiz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "López" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #296,029 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lápiz" and "López" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lapa vs lápiz". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #296,029 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.