Which to use
“lama” and “lemma” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,445
- “lama” frequency rank
- #39,896
- “lemma” frequency rank
- 55341
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lama | lemma |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A master of Tibetan Buddhism. | A proposition proved or accepted for immediate use in the proof of some other proposition. |
Where the eye mixes lama and lemma
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lama runs 4 letters (CVCV) against lemma's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between lama and lemma
A purely visual mix-up. lama (/ˈlɑː.mə/) and lemma (/ˈlɛmə/) 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 55341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lama is recorded at frequency rank #15,445, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɑː.mə/. lemma is at rank #39,896, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɛmə/.
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 55341, this pair ranks #134,355 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lama vs lemma
Shared letters: alm. Private to "lama": -. Private to "lemma": e.
"lama" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lemma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lama" for "lemma" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "lama" or "lemma" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lama" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lemma" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #134,355 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lama" and "lemma" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lemma vs lemur". 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 #134,355 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.