leavevslevesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: leave is a verb, leves is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“leave” is a verb and “leves” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,123
“leave” frequency rank
#14,882
“leves” frequency rank
50005
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leave leves
Definition Salir. Forma del plural de leve.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set leave and leves apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
leave
5 ch
leves

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leave is /liːv/ while leves is [ˈleβ̞es]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leave is recorded at frequency rank #35,123, classified as averb, pronounced /liːv/. leves is at rank #14,882, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈleβ̞es].

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 50005, this pair ranks #105,626 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of leave vs leves

Shared letters: elv. Private to "leave": a. Private to "leves": s.

"leave" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "leves" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leaveelave · laeve · leabe · leaev · leavve · levae · lleave
  • leveselves · lebes · leevs · levess · levse · levves · lleves · lvees

Frequency comparison

leave#35,123
leves#14,882

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leave" and "leves" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leave" is a verb and "leves" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "leave" or "leves"?
"leves" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,882 in our Spanish list, against #35,123 for "leave". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering leave vs leves

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “leave”; for an adjective, it's “leves”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “leave” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list