leídavsletraWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: leída is a participle, letra is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#23,840
“leída” frequency rank
#2,119
“letra” frequency rank
25959
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leída letra
Definition Forma del femenino de leído, participio de leer. Símbolo gráfico de un alfabeto.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
leída
5 ch
letra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leída is [leˈið̞a] while letra is [ˈlet̪ɾa]. 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 (participle vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25959, 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]. letra is at rank #2,119, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlet̪ɾa].

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 25959, this pair ranks #233,999 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of leída vs letra

Shared letters: ael. Private to "leída": . Private to "letra": rt.

"leída" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "letra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • letraeltra · lerta · letar · letrra · lettra · lletra · ltera

Frequency comparison

leída#23,840
letra#2,119

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leída" and "letra" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leída" is a participle and "letra" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "leída" or "letra"?
"letra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,119 in our Spanish list, against #23,840 for "leída". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering leída vs letra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “leída”; for a noun, it's “letra”.
  • 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