leídavslesaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: leída is a participle, lesa is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“leída” is a participle and “lesa” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,840
“leída” frequency rank
#14,169
“lesa” frequency rank
38009
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leída lesa
Definition Forma del femenino de leído, participio de leer. Forma del femenino singular de leso.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
leída
4 ch
lesa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leída is [leˈið̞a] while lesa is [ˈlesa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38009, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

leída is recorded at frequency rank #23,840, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [leˈið̞a]. lesa is at rank #14,169, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈlesa].

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 38009, this pair ranks #172,310 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of leída vs lesa

Shared letters: ael. Private to "leída": . Private to "lesa": s.

"leída" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "lesa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lesalessa · llesa · lsea

Frequency comparison

leída#23,840
lesa#14,169

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leída" and "lesa" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leída" is a participle and "lesa" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "leída" or "lesa"?
"lesa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,169 in our Spanish list, against #23,840 for "leída". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering leída vs lesa

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “leída”; for an adjective, it's “lesa”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “leída” 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