lavarvsllevarWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,556
“lavar” frequency rank
#612
“llevar” frequency rank
7168
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lavar llevar
Definition Limpiar con un medio líquido, especialmente con agua. Trasladar algo o a alguien desde un lugar hacia otro separado en el espacio.

Where the eye mixes lavar and llevar

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

5 ch
lavar
6 ch
llevar

Why the eye confuses lavar with llevar

A purely visual mix-up. lavar ([laˈβ̞aɾ]) and llevar ([ʝeˈβ̞aɾ]) 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 7168, 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]. llevar is at rank #612, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈβ̞aɾ].

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 7168, this pair ranks #308,750 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lavar vs llevar

Shared letters: alrv. Private to "lavar": -. Private to "llevar": e.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lavaralvar · laavr · labar · lavarr · lavra · lavvar · llavar · lvaar
  • llevarlelvar · levar · lleavr · llebar · llevarr · llevra · llevvar · llvear

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lavar" and "llevar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([laˈβ̞aɾ] versus [ʝeˈβ̞aɾ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lavar" vs "llevar" - which ranks higher?
"llevar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #612 in our Spanish list, against #6,556 for "lavar". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lavar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "llevar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #308,750 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lavar" and "llevar" 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 #308,750 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