llegabavsllorabaTell them apart

Which to use

“llegaba” and “lloraba” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,981
“llegaba” frequency rank
#14,887
“lloraba” frequency rank
20868
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llegaba lloraba
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llegar o de llegarse. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llorar.

Where the eye mixes llegaba and lloraba

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. llegaba and lloraba follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
llegaba
7 ch
lloraba

Why the eye confuses llegaba with lloraba

A purely visual mix-up. llegaba ([ʝeˈɣ̞aβ̞a]) and lloraba ([ʝoˈɾaβ̞a]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llegaba is recorded at frequency rank #5,981, classified as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈɣ̞aβ̞a]. lloraba is at rank #14,887, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝoˈɾaβ̞a].

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 20868, this pair ranks #257,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of llegaba vs lloraba

Shared letters: abl. Private to "llegaba": eg. Private to "lloraba": or.

"llegaba" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "lloraba" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • llegaba ← legaba · lelgaba · lleagba · llegaab · llegabba · llegava · llegbaa · lleggaba
  • lloraba ← lloarba · lloraab · llorabba · llorava · llorbaa · llorraba · llroaba · lolraba

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "llegaba" and "lloraba" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʝeˈɣ̞aβ̞a] versus [ʝoˈɾaβ̞a]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "llegaba" or "lloraba"?
"llegaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,981 in our Spanish list, against #14,887 for "lloraba". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "llegaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lloraba" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #257,406 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "llegaba" and "lloraba" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lloraba vs lloraban". 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 #257,406 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