leivslooTell them apart

Quick tell: lei is a noun, loo is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lei” is a noun and “loo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,485
“lei” frequency rank
#43,690
“loo” frequency rank
53175
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lei loo
Definition Corona de flores que adorna el cuello y que se obsequia al llegar o marchar como símbolo de afecto. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de loar.

Where the eye mixes lei and loo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
lei
3 ch
loo

Look-alike desk: lei vs loo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lei is [ˈlej] while loo is [ˈloo]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53175, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lei is recorded at frequency rank #9,485, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlej]. loo is at rank #43,690, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈloo].

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 53175, this pair ranks #89,149 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lei vs loo

Shared letters: l. Private to "lei": ei. Private to "loo": o.

"lei" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "loo" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lei" and "loo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lei" is a noun and "loo" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "lei" vs "loo" - which ranks higher?
"lei" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,485 in our Spanish list, against #43,690 for "loo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "lei" and "loo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lei" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "loo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #89,149 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lei" and "loo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "loo vs lotto". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #89,149 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