Which to use
“leves” is an adjective and “llaves” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,882
- “leves” frequency rank
- #6,324
- “llaves” frequency rank
- 21206
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leves | llaves |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de leve. | Forma del plural de llave. |
Where the eye mixes leves and llaves
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. leves runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against llaves's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: leves vs llaves
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leves is [ˈleβ̞es] while llaves is [ˈʝaβ̞es]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21206, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leves is recorded at frequency rank #14,882, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈleβ̞es]. llaves is at rank #6,324, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʝaβ̞es].
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 21206, this pair ranks #255,934 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of leves vs llaves
Shared letters: elsv. Private to "leves": -. Private to "llaves": a.
"leves" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "llaves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "leves" for "llaves" ever safe?
Frequency check: "leves" vs "llaves" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "leves" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "llaves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #255,934 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leves" and "llaves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leves vs lies". 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 #255,934 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.