llavevslloréWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#4,352
“llave” frequency rank
#18,602
“lloré” frequency rank
22954
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llave lloré
Definition Instrumento generalmente metálico que contiene un código grabado, el cuál al introducirlo en una cerradura permite abrirla. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de llorar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set llave and lloré apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
llave
5 ch
lloré

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: llave is [ˈʝaβ̞e] while lloré is [ʝoˈɾe]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22954, 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]. lloré is at rank #18,602, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝoˈɾe].

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 22954, this pair ranks #248,002 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of llave vs lloré

Shared letters: l. Private to "llave": aev. Private to "lloré": oré.

"llave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "lloré" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • llavelalve · lave · llabe · llaev · llavve · llvae

Frequency comparison

llave#4,352
lloré#18,602

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "llave" and "lloré" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "llave" is a noun and "lloré" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "llave" or "lloré"?
"llave" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,352 in our Spanish list, against #18,602 for "lloré". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering llave vs lloré

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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