lamavslimãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,317
“lama” frequency rank
#6,316
“limão” frequency rank
11633
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lama limão
Definition mistura heterogênea de terra e água fruto do limoeiro, de forma ovoide, cítrico de cor verde-amarela e de sabor ácido

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lama and limão apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
lama
5 ch
limão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lama (/ˈlɐ.mɐ/) and limão (/li.ˈmɐ̃w̃/) 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 11633, 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/. limão is at rank #6,316, tagged as anoun, pronounced /li.ˈmɐ̃w̃/.

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 11633, this pair ranks #61,174 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of lama vs limão

Shared letters: lm. Private to "lama": a. Private to "limão": ioã.

"lama" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "limão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lamalaam · lamma · llama · lmaa

Frequency comparison

lama#5,317
limão#6,316

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lama" and "limão" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈlɐ.mɐ/ versus /li.ˈmɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lama" or "limão"?
"lama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,317 in our Portuguese list, against #6,316 for "limão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lama vs limão

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