Which to use
“lança” is a noun and “lançar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,380
- “lança” frequency rank
- #2,237
- “lançar” frequency rank
- 4617
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lança | lançar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | uma arma longa para ser arremessada, que consiste de uma haste de madeira à qual é ligada uma ponta de metal | arremessar com força |
Where the eye mixes lança and lançar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lança runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against lançar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between lança and lançar
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lança is /ˈlɐ̃.sɐ/ while lançar is /lɐ̃.ˈsaɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “lança” sits inside “lançar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lança is recorded at frequency rank #2,380, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɐ̃.sɐ/. lançar is at rank #2,237, tagged as averb, pronounced /lɐ̃.ˈsaɾ/.
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 4617, this pair ranks #70,231 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lança vs lançar
Shared letters: alnç. Private to "lança": -. Private to "lançar": r.
"lança" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "lançar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lança" and "lançar" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lança" vs "lançar" - which ranks higher?
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 "lança" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lançar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,231 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lança" and "lançar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lança vs liana". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #70,231 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.