llevabavsllevasTell them apart

Which to use

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

#2,570
“llevaba” frequency rank
#4,622
“llevas” frequency rank
7192
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llevaba llevas
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de llevar o de llevarse. Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de llevar o de llevarse.

Where the eye mixes llevaba and llevas

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
llevaba
6 ch
llevas

Look-alike desk: llevaba vs llevas

A purely visual mix-up. llevaba ([ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞a]) and llevas ([ˈʝeβ̞as]) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7192, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llevaba is recorded at frequency rank #2,570, classified as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞a]. llevas is at rank #4,622, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʝeβ̞as].

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 7192, this pair ranks #308,691 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of llevaba vs llevas

Shared letters: aelv. Private to "llevaba": b. Private to "llevas": s.

"llevaba" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "llevas" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • llevabalelvaba · levaba · lleavba · llebaba · llevaab · llevabba · llevava · llevbaa
  • llevaslelvas · lleavs · llebas · llevass · llevsa · llevvas · llveas

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "llevaba" and "llevas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ʝeˈβ̞aβ̞a] versus [ˈʝeβ̞as]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "llevaba" or "llevas" show up more?
"llevaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,570 in our Spanish list, against #4,622 for "llevas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "llevaba" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "llevas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #308,691 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "llevaba" and "llevas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "llevarás vs llevas". 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 #308,691 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