llevarvsllevoTell them apart

Which to use

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

#612
“llevar” frequency rank
#1,643
“llevo” frequency rank
2255
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature llevar llevo
Definition Trasladar algo o a alguien desde un lugar hacia otro separado en el espacio. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de indicativo de llevar o de llevarse.

Where the eye mixes llevar and llevo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
llevar
5 ch
llevo

Why the eye confuses llevar with llevo

A purely visual mix-up. llevar ([ʝeˈβ̞aɾ]) and llevo ([ˈʝeβ̞o]) 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 2255, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

llevar is recorded at frequency rank #612, classified as averb, pronounced [ʝeˈβ̞aɾ]. llevo is at rank #1,643, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈʝeβ̞o].

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 2255, this pair ranks #320,674 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of llevar vs llevo

Shared letters: elv. Private to "llevar": ar. Private to "llevo": o.

"llevar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "llevo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • llevarlelvar · levar · lleavr · llebar · llevarr · llevra · llevvar · llvear
  • llevolelvo · levo · llebo · lleov · llevvo · llveo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "llevar" and "llevo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ʝeˈβ̞aɾ] versus [ˈʝeβ̞o]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "llevar" or "llevo"?
"llevar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #612 in our Spanish list, against #1,643 for "llevo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "llevar" and "llevo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "llevar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "llevo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #320,674 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "llevar" and "llevo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "llevar vs llevarás". 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 #320,674 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