laia vs lança, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#37,883
“laia” frequency rank: #2,380
“lança” frequency rank: 40263
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	laia	lança
Definition	lã	uma arma longa para ser arremessada, que consiste de uma haste de madeira à qual é ligada uma ponta de metal

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch

laia

5 ch

lança

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. laia (/ˈlaj.ɐ/) and lança (/ˈlɐ̃.sɐ/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40263, 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/. lança is at rank #2,380, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɐ̃.sɐ/.

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 40263, this pair ranks #25,886 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of laia vs lança

Shared letters: al. Private to "laia": i. Private to "lança": nç.

"laia" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "lança" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

laia ← alia · laai · liaa · llaia

Frequency comparison

laia#37,883

lança#2,380

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "laia" and "lança" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈlaj.ɐ/ versus /ˈlɐ̃.sɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "laia" or "lança"?

"lança" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,380 in our Portuguese list, against #37,883 for "laia". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering laia vs lança

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 “laia” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable