librevsliebreWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: libre is a adjective, liebre is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#468
“libre” frequency rank
#21,735
“liebre” frequency rank
22203
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature libre liebre
Definition Que puede obrar o decidir según su propia voluntad. (Lepus spp.) Mamífero del orden de los lagomorfos, semejante al conejo pero de orejas mucho más largas y cabeza esbelta, rabo corto, piel suave y patas posteriores muy desarrolladas. Mide alrededor de 60 cm y pesa de 1,5 a 2,5 kg, aunque hay especies más grandes. Tiene hábitos crepusculares y nocturnos y pare dos a tres veces al año. Su carne es apreciada en la gastronomía. Su cría se llama lebrato.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set libre and liebre apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
libre
6 ch
liebre

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

libre and liebre 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 22203, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

libre is recorded at frequency rank #468, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈliβ̞ɾe]. liebre is at rank #21,735, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈljeβ̞ɾe].

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 22203, this pair ranks #251,437 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

libre#468
liebre#21,735

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "libre" and "liebre" be used interchangeably?
No, "libre" and "liebre" 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 libre vs liebre

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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