laçovslamaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“laço” and “lama” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,518
“laço” frequency rank
#5,317
“lama” frequency rank
14835
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature laço lama
Definition nó que se desata facilmente mistura heterogênea de terra e água

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set laço and lama apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
laço
4 ch
lama

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. laço (/ˈla.su/) and lama (/ˈlɐ.mɐ/) 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 14835, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

laço is recorded at frequency rank #9,518, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈla.su/. lama is at rank #5,317, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɐ.mɐ/.

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 14835, this pair ranks #57,146 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of laço vs lama

Shared letters: al. Private to "laço": . Private to "lama": m.

"laço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lama" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lamalaam · lamma · llama · lmaa

Frequency comparison

laço#9,518
lama#5,317

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laço" and "lama" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈla.su/ versus /ˈlɐ.mɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "laço" or "lama"?
"lama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,317 in our Portuguese list, against #9,518 for "laço". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering laço vs lama

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 “laço” 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