Which to use
“lar” is a noun and “len” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,089
- “lar” frequency rank
- #30,622
- “len” frequency rank
- 33711
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lar | len |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | residência, habitação | só, apenas, somente |
Where the eye mixes lar and len
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between lar and len
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lar is /ˈlaɾ/ while len is /ʎen/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33711, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lar is recorded at frequency rank #3,089, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlaɾ/. len is at rank #30,622, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ʎen/.
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 33711, this pair ranks #33,722 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lar vs len
Shared letters: l. Private to "lar": ar. Private to "len": en.
"lar" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "len" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lar" for "len" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "lar" or "len" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "lar" and "len" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "len" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #33,722 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lar" and "len" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Leben vs len". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #33,722 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.