líosvslisWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“líos” and “lis” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#24,939
“líos” frequency rank
#20,413
“lis” frequency rank
45352
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature líos lis
Definition Forma del plural de lío. (Iris) Planta de la familia de las irídeas, formada por tallos que miden generalmente entre cinco y seis decímetros de largo, con hojas ensiformes que tienen cerca de la mitad de esa longitud, y que terminan en flores de gran tamaño, con seis pétalos de vivos colores, generalmente morado, azul o blanco.

Where the eye mixes líos and lis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
líos
3 ch
lis

Look-alike desk: líos vs lis

A purely visual mix-up. líos ([ˈlios]) and lis ([ˈlis]) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45352, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

líos is recorded at frequency rank #24,939, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlios]. lis is at rank #20,413, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlis].

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 45352, this pair ranks #131,920 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of líos vs lis

Shared letters: ls. Private to "líos": . Private to "lis": i.

"líos" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "lis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "líos" and "lis" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlios] versus [ˈlis]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "líos" or "lis"?
"lis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,413 in our Spanish list, against #24,939 for "líos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "líos" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #131,920 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "líos" and "lis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lies vs líos". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #131,920 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list