Which to use
“les” is a pronoun and “let's” is a contraction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #101
- “les” frequency rank
- #23,474
- “let's” frequency rank
- 23575
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | les | let's |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del dativo de ellos. Dativo del pronombre personal de tercera persona en género masculino o femenino y número plural. No admite preposición y se puede usar como sufijo: LES di; daLES. Es grave incorrección emplear en este caso para el género masculino la forma los, propia del acusativo, y en femenino tampoco debe emplearse la forma las, aunque lo hayan hecho escritores de nota. | Usado para formar el cohortativo de los verbos, equivalente a la primera persona plural del imperativo en otros idiomas; "vamos a + infinitivo". |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set les and let's apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: les is [les] while let's is /lɛts/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs contraction), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23575, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
les is recorded at frequency rank #101, classified as apron, pronounced [les]. let's is at rank #23,474, tagged as acontraction, pronounced /lɛts/.
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 23575, this pair ranks #245,143 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of les vs let's
Shared letters: els. Private to "les": -. Private to "let's": t.
"les" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "let's" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "les" and "let's" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "les" or "let's"?
Remembering les vs let's
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “les”; for a contraction, it's “let's”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “les” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable