Which to use
“lágrima” and “lástima” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,808
- “lágrima” frequency rank
- #34,794
- “lástima” frequency rank
- 51602
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lágrima | lástima |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | substância lubrificante produzida pelas glândulas lacrimais do olho, que são vertidas em abundãncia durante o choro | ato ou efeito de lastimar |
Where the eye mixes lágrima and lástima
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lágrima and lástima follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses lágrima with lástima
A purely visual mix-up. lágrima (/ˈla.gɾi.ma/) and lástima (/ˈlaʃ.ti.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 51602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lágrima is recorded at frequency rank #16,808, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈla.gɾi.ma/. lástima is at rank #34,794, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlaʃ.ti.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 51602, this pair ranks #13,470 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lágrima vs lástima
Shared letters: ailmá. Private to "lágrima": gr. Private to "lástima": st.
"lágrima" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "lástima" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lágrima" for "lástima" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "lágrima" or "lástima" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lágrima" and "lástima" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lágrima" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lástima" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,470 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lágrima" and "lástima" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lástima vs latim". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #13,470 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.