lambvslemaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#44,819
“lamb” frequency rank
#6,195
“lema” frequency rank
51014
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lamb lema
Definition Cordero, cordera. Frase o expresión distintiva que se emplea como guía para la conducta o latiguillo en la comunicación.

Where the eye mixes lamb and lema

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
lamb
4 ch
lema

Why the eye confuses lamb with lema

A purely visual mix-up. lamb (/læm/) and lema ([ˈlema]) 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 51014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lamb is recorded at frequency rank #44,819, classified as anoun, pronounced /læm/. lema is at rank #6,195, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈlema].

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 51014, this pair ranks #100,153 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lamb vs lema

Shared letters: alm. Private to "lamb": b. Private to "lema": e.

"lamb" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "lema" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lambalmb · labm · lambb · lammb · lamv · llamb · lmab
  • lemaelma · leam · lemma · llema · lmea

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lamb" for "lema" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/læm/ versus [ˈlema]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lamb" vs "lema" - which ranks higher?
"lema" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,195 in our Spanish list, against #44,819 for "lamb". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "lamb" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lema" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #100,153 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lamb" and "lema" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lac vs lamb". 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 #100,153 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