Which to use
“laia” and “lâmina” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,883
- “laia” frequency rank
- #9,367
- “lâmina” frequency rank
- 47250
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | laia | lâmina |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | lã | folha de instrumento cortante |
Where the eye mixes laia and lâmina
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. laia runs 4 letters (CVVV) against lâmina's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: laia vs lâmina
A purely visual mix-up. laia (/ˈlaj.ɐ/) and lâmina (/ˈlɐ.mi.nɐ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47250, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
laia is recorded at frequency rank #37,883, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlaj.ɐ/. lâmina is at rank #9,367, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɐ.mi.nɐ/.
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 47250, this pair ranks #18,012 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of laia vs lâmina
Shared letters: ail. Private to "laia": -. Private to "lâmina": mnâ.
"laia" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "lâmina" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- laia ← alia · laai · liaa · llaia
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "laia" and "lâmina" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "laia" or "lâmina" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "laia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lâmina" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,012 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "laia" and "lâmina" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laia vs liana". 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 #18,012 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.