lamavslemaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,317
“lama” frequency rank
#7,042
“lema” frequency rank
12359
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lama lema
Definition mistura heterogênea de terra e água ideia expressa por uma frase que serve de guia ou de motivação para uma pessoa, grupo, seita, país ou nação

Where the eye mixes lama and lema

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

4 ch
lama
4 ch
lema

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lama (/ˈlɐ.mɐ/) and lema (/ˈle.mɐ/) 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 a single letter - a in “lama” becomes e in “lema”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lama is recorded at frequency rank #5,317, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɐ.mɐ/. lema is at rank #7,042, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈle.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 12359, this pair ranks #60,270 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lama vs lema

Shared letters: alm. Private to "lama": -. Private to "lema": e.

"lama" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lema" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lamalaam · lamma · llama · lmaa
  • lemaelma · leam · lemma · llema · lmea

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lama" and "lema" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈlɐ.mɐ/ versus /ˈle.mɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lama" or "lema"?
"lama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,317 in our Portuguese list, against #7,042 for "lema". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list