Which to use
“lie” and “lies” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,700
- “lie” frequency rank
- #48,504
- “lies” frequency rank
- 74204
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lie | lies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de liar o de liarse. | Segunda persona del singular (vos) del presente de subjuntivo de liar o de liarse. |
Where the eye mixes lie and lies
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lie runs 3 letters (CVV) against lies's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: lie vs lies
A purely visual mix-up. lie ([ˈlje]) and lies ([ˈljes]) 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 1 extra letter(s) - “lie” sits inside “lies”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 74204, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lie is recorded at frequency rank #25,700, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlje]. lies is at rank #48,504, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈljes].
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 74204, this pair ranks #21,754 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lie vs lies
Shared letters: eil. Private to "lie": -. Private to "lies": s.
"lie" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "lies" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lies ← iles · leis · liess · lise · llies
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lie" and "lies" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "lie" or "lies" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "lie" and "lies" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lies" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,754 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lie" and "lies" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lens 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 #21,754 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.