lavarvsllamarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,556
“lavar” frequency rank
#1,249
“llamar” frequency rank
7805
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lavar llamar
Definition Limpiar con un medio líquido, especialmente con agua. Utilizar una palabra o expresión para referirse a alguien o algo.

Where the eye mixes lavar and llamar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
lavar
6 ch
llamar

Look-alike desk: lavar vs llamar

A purely visual mix-up. lavar ([laˈβ̞aɾ]) and llamar ([ʝaˈmaɾ]) 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 7805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lavar is recorded at frequency rank #6,556, classified as averb, pronounced [laˈβ̞aɾ]. llamar is at rank #1,249, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝaˈmaɾ].

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 7805, this pair ranks #306,876 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lavar vs llamar

Shared letters: alr. Private to "lavar": v. Private to "llamar": m.

"lavar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "llamar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lavaralvar · laavr · labar · lavarr · lavra · lavvar · llavar · lvaar
  • llamarlalmar · lamar · llaamr · llamarr · llammar · llamra · llmaar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lavar" and "llamar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([laˈβ̞aɾ] versus [ʝaˈmaɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lavar" or "llamar"?
"llamar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,249 in our Spanish list, against #6,556 for "lavar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "lavar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "llamar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #306,876 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lavar" and "llamar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lavar vs lavaron". 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 #306,876 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