lemmavsllamaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“lemma” and “llama” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#39,896
“lemma” frequency rank
#30,868
“llama” frequency rank
70764
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lemma llama
Definition A proposition proved or accepted for immediate use in the proof of some other proposition. A South American mammal of the camel family, Lama glama, used as a domestic beast of burden and a source of wool and meat.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lemma and llama apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
lemma
5 ch
llama

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lemma (/ˈlɛmə/) and llama (/ˈlɑː.mə/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70764, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lemma is recorded at frequency rank #39,896, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɛmə/. llama is at rank #30,868, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɑː.mə/.

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 70764, this pair ranks #49,251 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lemma vs llama

Shared letters: alm. Private to "lemma": e. Private to "llama": -.

"lemma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "llama" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lemmaelmma · lema · lemam · llemma · lmema
  • llamalalma · llaam · llamma · llmaa

Frequency comparison

lemma#39,896
llama#30,868

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lemma" and "llama" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈlɛmə/ versus /ˈlɑː.mə/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lemma" or "llama"?
"llama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,868 in our English list, against #39,896 for "lemma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lemma vs llama

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lemma” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list