lançavslanchaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lança is a noun, lancha is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lança” is a noun and “lancha” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,380
“lança” frequency rank
#22,369
“lancha” frequency rank
24749
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lança lancha
Definition uma arma longa para ser arremessada, que consiste de uma haste de madeira à qual é ligada uma ponta de metal que é natural da capital da Região Autónoma da Madeira, a cidade do Funchal

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
lança
6 ch
lancha

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lança is /ˈlɐ̃.sɐ/ while lancha is /ˈɫɐ̃.ʃɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24749, 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/. lancha is at rank #22,369, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈɫɐ̃.ʃɐ/.

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 24749, this pair ranks #44,774 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lança vs lancha

Shared letters: aln. Private to "lança": ç. Private to "lancha": ch.

"lança" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "lancha" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lanchaalncha · lacnha · lancah · lanccha · lanchha · lanhca · lanncha · llancha

Frequency comparison

lança#2,380
lancha#22,369

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lança" and "lancha" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lança" is a noun and "lancha" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lança" or "lancha"?
"lança" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,380 in our Portuguese list, against #22,369 for "lancha". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lança vs lancha

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “lança”; for an adjective, it's “lancha”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lança” 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