let's vs letra, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“let's” is a contraction and “letra” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,474
“let's” frequency rank: #2,119
“letra” frequency rank: 25593
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	let's	letra
Definition	Usado para formar el cohortativo de los verbos, equivalente a la primera persona plural del imperativo en otros idiomas; "vamos a + infinitivo".	Símbolo gráfico de un alfabeto.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch

let's

5 ch

letra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: let's is /lɛts/ 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 (contraction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25593, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

let's is recorded at frequency rank #23,474, classified as acontraction, pronounced /lɛts/. 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 25593, this pair ranks #235,718 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of let's vs letra

Shared letters: elt. Private to "let's": s. Private to "letra": ar.

"let's" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "letra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

letra ← eltra · lerta · letar · letrra · lettra · lletra · ltera

Frequency comparison

let's#23,474

letra#2,119

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "let's" and "letra" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "let's" is a contraction and "letra" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "let's" or "letra"?

"letra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,119 in our Spanish list, against #23,474 for "let's". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering let's vs letra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “let's”; for a noun, it's “letra”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “let's” entry
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