librarvslibreWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: librar is a verb, libre is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#21,049
“librar” frequency rank
#468
“libre” frequency rank
21517
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature librar libre
Definition Sacar o preservar a alguien de un trabajo, mal o peligro. Que puede obrar o decidir según su propia voluntad.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
librar
5 ch
libre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

librar and libre form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

librar is recorded at frequency rank #21,049, classified as averb, pronounced [liˈβ̞ɾaɾ]. libre is at rank #468, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈliβ̞ɾe].

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 21517, this pair ranks #254,568 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

librar#21,049
libre#468

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "librar" and "libre" be used interchangeably?
No, "librar" and "libre" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering librar vs libre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “librar”; for an adjective, it's “libre”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “librar” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list