Which to use
“low” is an adverb and “lower” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,737
- “low” frequency rank
- #44,841
- “lower” frequency rank
- 58578
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | low | lower |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bajo. | Más bajo, comparativo de low. |
Where the eye mixes low and lower
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses low with lower
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: low is /ləʊ/ while lower is /ˈləʊ.ə/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “low” sits inside “lower”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58578, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
low is recorded at frequency rank #13,737, classified as anadv, pronounced /ləʊ/. lower is at rank #44,841, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈləʊ.ə/.
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 58578, this pair ranks #65,948 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of low vs lower
Shared letters: low. Private to "low": -. Private to "lower": er.
"low" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lower" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lower ← llower · loewr · lowerr · lowre · lowwer · lwoer · olwer
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "low" and "lower" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "low" or "lower" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "low" and "lower" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "low" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lower" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,948 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "low" and "lower" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lover vs lower". 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 #65,948 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.