Which to use
“lança” and “lenço” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,380
- “lança” frequency rank
- #15,847
- “lenço” frequency rank
- 18227
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lança | lenço |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | uma arma longa para ser arremessada, que consiste de uma haste de madeira à qual é ligada uma ponta de metal | pedaço de pano quadrado que serve para: |
Where the eye mixes lança and lenço
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lança and lenço follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: lança vs lenço
A purely visual mix-up. lança (/ˈlɐ̃.sɐ/) and lenço (/ˈlẽ.su/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18227, 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/. lenço is at rank #15,847, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlẽ.su/.
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 18227, this pair ranks #52,812 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lança vs lenço
Shared letters: lnç. Private to "lança": a. Private to "lenço": eo.
"lança" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "lenço" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lança" and "lenço" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "lança" or "lenço" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "lança" and "lenço" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lança" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lenço" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,812 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lança" and "lenço" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lenço vs lince". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #52,812 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.