llvslxsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ll is a character, lxs is an article, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ll” is a character and “lxs” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,141
“ll” frequency rank
#27,673
“lxs” frequency rank
42814
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ll lxs
Definition Dígrafo que fue considerado -entre 1754 y 2010- como la decimocuarta letra del alfabeto español y su undécima consonante, pero ya no lo es. Su nombre es femenino: la elle, doble ele, plural es elles. En la mayoría de los países hispánicos se pronuncia como y. Es indivisible en la escritura. Artículo determinado neutro plural.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ll and lxs apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
ll
3 ch
lxs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

ll and lxs 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 42814, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ll is recorded at frequency rank #15,141, classified as acharacter, pronounced [ˈl]. lxs is at rank #27,673, tagged as anarticle, pronounced [les].

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 42814, this pair ranks #146,140 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

ll#15,141
lxs#27,673

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ll" and "lxs" be used interchangeably?
No, "ll" and "lxs" 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 ll vs lxs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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