legiónvslionWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,083
“legión” frequency rank
#27,289
“lion” frequency rank
40372
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature legión lion
Definition Ejército de la Roma antigua que se componía de caballería e infantería. (Panthera leo) León.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set legión and lion apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
legión
4 ch
lion

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. legión ([leˈxjõn]) and lion ([ˈljɔ̃]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40372, 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]. lion is at rank #27,289, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈljɔ̃].

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 40372, this pair ranks #159,458 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of legión vs lion

Shared letters: iln. Private to "legión": egó. Private to "lion": o.

"legión" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "lion" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lionilon · lionn · llion · loin

Frequency comparison

legión#13,083
lion#27,289

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "legión" and "lion" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([leˈxjõn] versus [ˈljɔ̃]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "legión" or "lion"?
"legión" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,083 in our Spanish list, against #27,289 for "lion". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering legión vs lion

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “legión” 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