LavínvslavoConfusable pair

Quick tell: Lavín is a name, lavo is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“Lavín” is a name and “lavo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,926
“Lavín” frequency rank
#26,508
“lavo” frequency rank
67434
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Lavín lavo
Definition Apellido Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de lavar.

Where the eye mixes Lavín and lavo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Lavín runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against lavo's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Lavín
4 ch
lavo

Why the eye confuses Lavín with lavo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Lavín is [laˈβ̞ĩn] while lavo is [ˈlaβ̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67434, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Lavín is recorded at frequency rank #40,926, classified as aname, pronounced [laˈβ̞ĩn]. lavo is at rank #26,508, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈlaβ̞o].

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 67434, this pair ranks #37,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Lavín vs lavo

Shared letters: alv. Private to "Lavín": ní. Private to "lavo": o.

"Lavín" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "lavo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lavo ← alvo · labo · laov · lavvo · llavo · lvao

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Lavín" and "lavo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "Lavín" is a name and "lavo" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "Lavín" or "lavo" show up more?
"lavo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,508 in our Spanish list, against #40,926 for "Lavín". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "Lavín" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lavo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #37,126 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Lavín" and "lavo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lavín vs Livia". 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 #37,126 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