llegóvsllenéWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#687
“llegó” frequency rank
#48,511
“llené” frequency rank
49198
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llegó llené
Definition Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de llegar. Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de llenar.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set llegó and llené apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
llegó
5 ch
llené

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. llegó ([ʝeˈɣ̞o]) and llené ([ʝeˈne]) 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 49198, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llegó is recorded at frequency rank #687, classified as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈɣ̞o]. llené is at rank #48,511, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈne].

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 49198, this pair ranks #110,181 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of llegó vs llené

Shared letters: el. Private to "llegó": . Private to "llené": .

"llegó" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "llené" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Frequency comparison

llegó#687
llené#48,511

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "llegó" and "llené" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʝeˈɣ̞o] versus [ʝeˈne]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "llegó" or "llené"?
"llegó" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #687 in our Spanish list, against #48,511 for "llené". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering llegó vs llené

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 “llegó” 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