Which to use
“law” and “lei” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,081
- “law” frequency rank
- #9,485
- “lei” frequency rank
- 22566
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | law | lei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ley₁₋₉. | Corona de flores que adorna el cuello y que se obsequia al llegar o marchar como símbolo de afecto. |
Where the eye mixes law and lei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses law with lei
A purely visual mix-up. law (/lɔː/) and lei ([ˈlej]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22566, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
law is recorded at frequency rank #13,081, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɔː/. lei is at rank #9,485, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlej].
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 22566, this pair ranks #249,716 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of law vs lei
Shared letters: l. Private to "law": aw. Private to "lei": ei.
"law" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lei" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "law" for "lei" ever safe?
Frequency check: "law" vs "lei" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "law" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lei" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #249,716 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "law" and "lei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lac vs law". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #249,716 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.