Which to use
“le” is a pronoun and “lei” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30
- “le” frequency rank
- #9,485
- “lei” frequency rank
- 9515
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | le | lei |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Dativo de los pronombres personales de tercera persona él, ella y ello. | Corona de flores que adorna el cuello y que se obsequia al llegar o marchar como símbolo de afecto. |
Where the eye mixes le and lei
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between le and lei
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: le is [le] while lei is [ˈlej]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “le” sits inside “lei”, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9515, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
le is recorded at frequency rank #30, classified as apron, pronounced [le]. 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 9515, this pair ranks #301,706 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of le vs lei
Shared letters: el. Private to "le": -. Private to "lei": i.
"le" · 2 letters · shape CV · "lei" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "le" and "lei" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "le" or "lei"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "le" 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 #301,706 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "le" and "lei" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lei vs lies". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #301,706 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.