Which to use
“lea” is a verb and “los” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,323
- “lea” frequency rank
- #8
- “los” frequency rank
- 5331
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lea | los |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de leer. | Artículo determinado masculino plural. El singular es lo. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lea and los apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lea and los form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5331, 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]. los is at rank #8, tagged as anarticle, pronounced [los].
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 5331, this pair ranks #313,882 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lea" and "los" be used interchangeably?
Remembering lea vs los
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lea”; for an article, it's “los”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lea” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable