leguavsLermaConfusable pair

Quick tell: legua is a noun, Lerma is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“legua” is a noun and “Lerma” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#31,419
“legua” frequency rank
#25,699
“Lerma” frequency rank
57118
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature legua Lerma
Definition Medida de longitud, de dimensión variable según los sistemas, aproximadamente equivalente a la distancia recorrida durante una hora caminando a paso normal. Apellido.

Where the eye mixes legua and Lerma

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. legua (CVCVV) and Lerma (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
legua
5 ch
Lerma

Why the eye confuses legua with Lerma

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: legua is [ˈleɣ̞wa] while Lerma is [ˈleɾma]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57118, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

legua is recorded at frequency rank #31,419, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈleɣ̞wa]. Lerma is at rank #25,699, tagged as aname, pronounced [ˈleɾma].

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 57118, this pair ranks #71,777 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of legua vs Lerma

Shared letters: ael. Private to "legua": gu. Private to "Lerma": mr.

"legua" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "Lerma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • legua ← elgua · legau · leggua · leuga · lgeua · llegua
  • Lerma ← elrma · lemra · leram · lermma · lerrma · llerma · lrema

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "legua" and "Lerma" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "legua" is a noun and "Lerma" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "legua" or "Lerma"?
"Lerma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,699 in our Spanish list, against #31,419 for "legua". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "legua" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "Lerma" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #71,777 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "legua" and "Lerma" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Lerma vs Lyra". 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 #71,777 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