Which to use
“legua” and “lingua” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,419
- “legua” frequency rank
- #36,650
- “lingua” frequency rank
- 68069
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | legua | lingua |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Medida de longitud, de dimensión variable según los sistemas, aproximadamente equivalente a la distancia recorrida durante una hora caminando a paso normal. | Lengua. |
Where the eye mixes legua and lingua
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. legua runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against lingua's 6 (CVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses legua with lingua
A purely visual mix-up. legua ([ˈleɣ̞wa]) and lingua (/ˈliŋ.ɡwa/) 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 68069, 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]. lingua is at rank #36,650, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈliŋ.ɡwa/.
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 68069, this pair ranks #35,476 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of legua vs lingua
Shared letters: aglu. Private to "legua": e. Private to "lingua": in.
"legua" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "lingua" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "legua" and "lingua" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "legua" or "lingua" show up more?
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 "legua" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lingua" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #35,476 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "legua" and "lingua" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lega vs legua". 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 #35,476 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.