llamevsllavesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#4,621
“llame” frequency rank
#6,324
“llaves” frequency rank
10945
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llame llaves
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de llamar o de llamarse. Forma del plural de llave.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set llame and llaves apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
llame
6 ch
llaves

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: llame is [ˈʝame] while llaves is [ˈʝaβ̞es]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10945, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llame is recorded at frequency rank #4,621, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʝame]. llaves is at rank #6,324, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʝaβ̞es].

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 10945, this pair ranks #296,791 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of llame vs llaves

Shared letters: ael. Private to "llame": m. Private to "llaves": sv.

"llame" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "llaves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • llamelalme · lame · llaem · llamme · llmae
  • llaveslalves · laves · llabes · llaevs · llavess · llavse · llavves · llvaes

Frequency comparison

llame#4,621
llaves#6,324

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "llame" and "llaves" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "llame" is a verb and "llaves" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "llame" or "llaves"?
"llame" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,621 in our Spanish list, against #6,324 for "llaves". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering llame vs llaves

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “llame”; for a noun, it's “llaves”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “llame” 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