llamavsllamarWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: llama is a noun, llamar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“llama” is a noun and “llamar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#611
“llama” frequency rank
#1,249
“llamar” frequency rank
1860
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llama llamar
Definition Luz emitida por los electrones excitados con la energía liberada en los procesos de combustión dentro de atmósferas ricas en oxígeno. Utilizar una palabra o expresión para referirse a alguien o algo.

Where the eye mixes llama and llamar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

5 ch
llama
6 ch
llamar

Look-alike desk: llama vs llamar

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: llama is [ˈʝama] while llamar is [ʝaˈmaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “llama” sits inside “llamar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1860, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llama is recorded at frequency rank #611, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʝama]. llamar is at rank #1,249, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝaˈmaɾ].

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 1860, this pair ranks #321,367 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of llama vs llamar

Shared letters: alm. Private to "llama": -. Private to "llamar": r.

"llama" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "llamar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • llamalalma · llaam · llamma · llmaa
  • llamarlalmar · lamar · llaamr · llamarr · llammar · llamra · llmaar

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "llama" for "llamar" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "llama" is a noun and "llamar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "llama" or "llamar" show up more?
"llama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #611 in our Spanish list, against #1,249 for "llamar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "llama" and "llamar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "llama" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "llamar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #321,367 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "llama" and "llamar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lapa vs llama". 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 #321,367 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