Which to use
“leían” and “llegan” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #44,830
- “leían” frequency rank
- #1,737
- “llegan” frequency rank
- 46567
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leían | llegan |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de leer. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de llegar o de llegarse. |
Where the eye mixes leían and llegan
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. leían runs 5 letters (CVVVC) against llegan's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses leían with llegan
A purely visual mix-up. leían ([leˈiãn]) and llegan ([ˈʝeɣ̞ãn]) 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 46567, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leían is recorded at frequency rank #44,830, classified as averb, pronounced [leˈiãn]. llegan is at rank #1,737, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʝeɣ̞ãn].
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 46567, this pair ranks #124,997 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of leían vs llegan
Shared letters: aeln. Private to "leían": í. Private to "llegan": g.
"leían" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "llegan" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- llegan ← legan · lelgan · lleagn · llegann · lleggan · llegna · llgean
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "leían" and "llegan" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "leían" or "llegan"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "leían" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "llegan" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #124,997 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leían" and "llegan" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leían vs lucían". 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 #124,997 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.