Which to use
“ley” and “leyes” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #204
- “ley” frequency rank
- #878
- “leyes” frequency rank
- 1082
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ley | leyes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Disposición, regla o precepto dictado por la máxima autoridad. | Forma del plural de ley. |
Where the eye mixes ley and leyes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: ley vs leyes
A purely visual mix-up. ley ([ˈlej]) and leyes ([ˈleʝes]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ley” sits inside “leyes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1082, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ley is recorded at frequency rank #204, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlej]. leyes is at rank #878, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈleʝes].
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 1082, this pair ranks #322,573 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ley vs leyes
Shared letters: ely. Private to "ley": -. Private to "leyes": s.
"ley" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "leyes" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- leyes ← elyes · leeys · leyess · leyse · leyyes · lleyes · lyees
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ley" for "leyes" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "ley" or "leyes" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ley" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "leyes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #322,573 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ley" and "leyes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leyes 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 #322,573 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.