llegarvsllegaronWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#341
“llegar” frequency rank
#1,778
“llegaron” frequency rank
2119
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llegar llegaron
Definition Acción de terminar un viaje o movimiento porque se ha alcanzado el destino. Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de llegar o de llegarse.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set llegar and llegaron apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
llegar
8 ch
llegaron

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. llegar ([ʝeˈɣ̞aɾ]) and llegaron ([ʝeˈɣ̞aɾõn]) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “llegar” sits inside “llegaron”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2119, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llegar is recorded at frequency rank #341, classified as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈɣ̞aɾ]. llegaron is at rank #1,778, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈɣ̞aɾõn].

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 2119, this pair ranks #320,939 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of llegar vs llegaron

Shared letters: aeglr. Private to "llegar": -. Private to "llegaron": no.

"llegar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "llegaron" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • llegarlegar · lelgar · lleagr · llegarr · lleggar · llegra · llgear
  • llegaronlegaron · lelgaron · lleagron · llegaorn · llegarno · llegaronn · llegarron · lleggaron

Frequency comparison

llegar#341
llegaron#1,778

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "llegar" and "llegaron" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʝeˈɣ̞aɾ] versus [ʝeˈɣ̞aɾõn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "llegar" or "llegaron"?
"llegar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #341 in our Spanish list, against #1,778 for "llegaron". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering llegar vs llegaron

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “llegar” 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