Which to use
“ligar” is a verb and “ligue” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,410
- “ligar” frequency rank
- #30,979
- “ligue” frequency rank
- 46389
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ligar | ligue |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sujetar o fijar con cuerdas de tal modo que se impida el movimiento. | Acción o efecto de ligar, en el sentido de atraer o seducir a alguien en busca de una relación sexual, a menudo pasajera, o de pareja. |
Where the eye mixes ligar and ligue
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. ligar (CVCVC) and ligue (CVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses ligar with ligue
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ligar is [liˈɣ̞aɾ] while ligue is [ˈliɣ̞e]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46389, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ligar is recorded at frequency rank #15,410, classified as averb, pronounced [liˈɣ̞aɾ]. ligue is at rank #30,979, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈliɣ̞e].
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 46389, this pair ranks #126,014 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ligar vs ligue
Shared letters: gil. Private to "ligar": ar. Private to "ligue": eu.
"ligar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "ligue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ligar" and "ligue" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "ligar" or "ligue" 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 "ligar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ligue" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #126,014 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ligar" and "ligue" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ligue vs livre". 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 #126,014 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.