lareiravslixeiraConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#14,400
“lareira” frequency rank
#18,099
“lixeira” frequency rank
32499
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lareira lixeira
Definition pedra em que se acende o lume recipiente de madeira, plástico ou metal, de forma e tamanho variados, móvel ou fixo, onde se reúne o lixo, nas casas, logradouros e vias públicas

Where the eye mixes lareira and lixeira

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. lareira and lixeira follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
lareira
7 ch
lixeira

Visual trap between lareira and lixeira

A purely visual mix-up. lareira (/lɐ.ˈɾɐj.ɾɐ/) and lixeira (/li.ˈʃɐj.ɾɐ/) 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 32499, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lareira is recorded at frequency rank #14,400, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɐ.ˈɾɐj.ɾɐ/. lixeira is at rank #18,099, tagged as anoun, pronounced /li.ˈʃɐj.ɾɐ/.

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 32499, this pair ranks #35,292 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lareira vs lixeira

Shared letters: aeilr. Private to "lareira": -. Private to "lixeira": x.

"lareira" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "lixeira" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lareira ← alreira · laerira · lareiar · lareirra · lareria · lariera · larreira · llareira
  • lixeira ← ilxeira · liexira · lixeiar · lixeirra · lixeria · lixiera · lixxeira · llixeira

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "lareira" for "lixeira" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/lɐ.ˈɾɐj.ɾɐ/ versus /li.ˈʃɐj.ɾɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "lareira" vs "lixeira" - which ranks higher?
"lareira" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,400 in our Portuguese list, against #18,099 for "lixeira". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "lareira" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "lixeira" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #35,292 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lareira" and "lixeira" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "leiteira vs lixeira". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #35,292 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list