llevanvsllevandoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,515
“llevan” frequency rank
#3,268
“llevando” frequency rank
4783
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llevan llevando
Definition Tercera persona del plural (ellos, ellas; ustedes, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de llevar o de llevarse. Gerundio de llevar.

Where the eye mixes llevan and llevando

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

6 ch
llevan
8 ch
llevando

Why the eye confuses llevan with llevando

A purely visual mix-up. llevan ([ˈʝeβ̞ãn]) and llevando ([ʝeˈβ̞ãn̪d̪o]) 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) - “llevan” sits inside “llevando”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4783, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llevan is recorded at frequency rank #1,515, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈʝeβ̞ãn]. llevando is at rank #3,268, tagged as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈβ̞ãn̪d̪o].

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 4783, this pair ranks #315,261 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of llevan vs llevando

Shared letters: aelnv. Private to "llevan": -. Private to "llevando": do.

"llevan" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "llevando" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • llevanlelvan · levan · lleavn · lleban · llevann · llevna · llevvan · llvean
  • llevandolelvando · levando · lleavndo · llebando · llevadno · llevanddo · llevanndo · llevanod

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "llevan" and "llevando" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈʝeβ̞ãn] versus [ʝeˈβ̞ãn̪d̪o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "llevan" or "llevando"?
"llevan" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,515 in our Spanish list, against #3,268 for "llevando". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "llevan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "llevando" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #315,261 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "llevan" and "llevando" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leían vs llevan". 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 #315,261 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