lui vs lx, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“lui” is a verb and “lx” is an article - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,659
“lui” frequency rank: #39,325
“lx” frequency rank: 75984
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	lui	lx
Definition	Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo de luir.	Artículo determinado neutro singular.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lui and lx apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

lui

2 ch

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lui is [ˈlwi] while lx is [el]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs article), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lui is recorded at frequency rank #36,659, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈlwi]. lx is at rank #39,325, tagged as anarticle, pronounced [el].

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 75984, this pair ranks #18,536 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lui vs lx

Shared letters: l. Private to "lui": iu. Private to "lx": x.

"lui" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "lx" · 2 letters · shape CC

Frequency comparison

lui#36,659

lx#39,325

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lui" and "lx" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lui" is a verb and "lx" an article, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "lui" or "lx"?

"lui" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,659 in our Spanish list, against #39,325 for "lx". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lui vs lx

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “lui”; for an article, it's “lx”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lui” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable