levesvsllevenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: leves is a adjective, lleven is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“leves” is an adjective and “lleven” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,882
“leves” frequency rank
#6,200
“lleven” frequency rank
21082
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leves lleven
Definition Forma del plural de leve. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de llevar o de llevarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set leves and lleven apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
leves
6 ch
lleven

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leves is [ˈleβ̞es] while lleven is [ˈʝeβ̞ẽn]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21082, 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]. lleven is at rank #6,200, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʝeβ̞ẽn].

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 21082, this pair ranks #256,507 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of leves vs lleven

Shared letters: elv. Private to "leves": s. Private to "lleven": n.

"leves" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "lleven" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • leveselves · lebes · leevs · levess · levse · levves · lleves · lvees
  • llevenlelven · leven · lleben · lleevn · llevenn · llevne · llevven · llveen

Frequency comparison

leves#14,882
lleven#6,200

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leves" and "lleven" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leves" is an adjective and "lleven" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "leves" or "lleven"?
"lleven" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,200 in our Spanish list, against #14,882 for "leves". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering leves vs lleven

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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