Which to use
“legión” is a noun and “leían” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,083
- “legión” frequency rank
- #44,830
- “leían” frequency rank
- 57913
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | legión | leían |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ejército de la Roma antigua que se componía de caballería e infantería. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de leer. |
Where the eye mixes legión and leían
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. legión runs 6 letters (CVCVVC) against leían's 5 (CVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses legión with leían
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: legión is [leˈxjõn] while leían is [leˈiãn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57913, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
legión is recorded at frequency rank #13,083, classified as anoun, pronounced [leˈxjõn]. leían is at rank #44,830, tagged as averb, pronounced [leˈiãn].
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 57913, this pair ranks #68,556 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of legión vs leían
Shared letters: eln. Private to "legión": gió. Private to "leían": aí.
"legión" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "leían" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "legión" for "leían" ever safe?
Which is more common, "legión" or "leían"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "legión" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leían" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,556 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "legión" and "leían" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leían vs lucían". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #68,556 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.