Which to use
“llaves” is a noun and “lleven” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,324
- “llaves” frequency rank
- #6,200
- “lleven” frequency rank
- 12524
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | llaves | lleven |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de llave. | Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de subjuntivo de llevar o de llevarse. |
Where the eye mixes llaves and lleven
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses llaves with lleven
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: llaves is [ˈʝaβ̞es] while lleven is [ˈʝeβ̞ẽn]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 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 12524, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
llaves is recorded at frequency rank #6,324, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʝaβ̞es]. lleven is at rank #6,200, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʝeβ̞ẽn].
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 12524, this pair ranks #291,240 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of llaves vs lleven
Shared letters: elv. Private to "llaves": as. Private to "lleven": n.
"llaves" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "lleven" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "llaves" and "lleven" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "llaves" or "lleven" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "llaves" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lleven" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #291,240 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "llaves" and "lleven" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "llené vs lleven". 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 #291,240 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.