lamavslhamaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,317
“lama” frequency rank
#42,084
“lhama” frequency rank
47401
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lama lhama
Definition mistura heterogênea de terra e água mamífero ruminante andino, de pescoço longo e pelo lanoso, parente do camelo, conhecido por cuspir quando é desagradado e pela sua lã; o mesmo que lama

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lama and lhama apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lama
5 ch
lhama

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lama (/ˈlɐ.mɐ/) and lhama (/ˈʎɐ̃.ma/) 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 47401, 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/. lhama is at rank #42,084, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈʎɐ̃.ma/.

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 47401, this pair ranks #17,855 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lama vs lhama

Shared letters: alm. Private to "lama": -. Private to "lhama": h.

"lama" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "lhama" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lamalaam · lamma · llama · lmaa
  • lhamahlama · lahma · lhaam · lhamma · lhhama · lhmaa · llhama

Frequency comparison

lama#5,317
lhama#42,084

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lama" and "lhama" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈlɐ.mɐ/ versus /ˈʎɐ̃.ma/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lama" or "lhama"?
"lama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,317 in our Portuguese list, against #42,084 for "lhama". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lama vs lhama

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 “lama” 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