leadvslemasWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“lead” and “lemas” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#39,314
“lead” frequency rank
#28,429
“lemas” frequency rank
67743
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lead lemas
Definition Plomo. Forma del plural de lema.

Where the eye mixes lead and lemas

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

4 ch
lead
5 ch
lemas

Visual trap between lead and lemas

A purely visual mix-up. lead (/lɛd/) and lemas ([ˈlemas]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67743, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lead is recorded at frequency rank #39,314, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɛd/. lemas is at rank #28,429, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlemas].

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 67743, this pair ranks #36,333 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lead vs lemas

Shared letters: ael. Private to "lead": d. Private to "lemas": ms.

"lead" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "lemas" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lead ← elad · laed · leadd · leda · llead
  • lemas ← elmas · leams · lemass · lemmas · lemsa · llemas · lmeas

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lead" and "lemas" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/lɛd/ versus [ˈlemas]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lead" or "lemas"?
"lemas" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #28,429 in our Spanish list, against #39,314 for "lead". 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 "lead" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lemas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #36,333 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lead" and "lemas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lac vs lead". 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 #36,333 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