leavslepraWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: lea is a verb, lepra is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lea” is a verb and “lepra” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,323
“lea” frequency rank
#30,547
“lepra” frequency rank
35870
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lea lepra
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de leer. Enfermedad infecciosa de la piel y los nervios que se manifiesta por tubérculos, úlceras y manchas.

Where the eye mixes lea and lepra

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

3 ch
lea
5 ch
lepra

Why the eye confuses lea with lepra

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lea is [ˈlea] while lepra is [ˈlepɾa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35870, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lea is recorded at frequency rank #5,323, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlea]. lepra is at rank #30,547, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlepɾa].

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 35870, this pair ranks #183,734 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lea vs lepra

Shared letters: ael. Private to "lea": -. Private to "lepra": pr.

"lea" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "lepra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lepraelpra · lepar · leppra · leprra · lerpa · llepra · lpera

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lea" for "lepra" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lea" is a verb and "lepra" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lea" or "lepra"?
"lea" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,323 in our Spanish list, against #30,547 for "lepra". 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 "lea" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lepra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #183,734 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lea" and "lepra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lepra vs Lyra". 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 #183,734 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