Which to use
“llave” and “llaves” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,352
- “llave” frequency rank
- #6,324
- “llaves” frequency rank
- 10676
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | llave | llaves |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Instrumento generalmente metálico que contiene un código grabado, el cuál al introducirlo en una cerradura permite abrirla. | Forma del plural de llave. |
Where the eye mixes llave and llaves
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between llave and llaves
A purely visual mix-up. llave ([ˈʝaβ̞e]) and llaves ([ˈʝaβ̞es]) 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 extra letter(s) - “llave” sits inside “llaves”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10676, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
llave is recorded at frequency rank #4,352, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʝaβ̞e]. 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 10676, this pair ranks #297,782 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of llave vs llaves
Shared letters: aelv. Private to "llave": -. Private to "llaves": s.
"llave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "llaves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "llave" and "llaves" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "llave" or "llaves" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "llave" and "llaves" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "llave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "llaves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #297,782 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "llave" and "llaves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "llave vs llené". 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 #297,782 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.