larvavslevaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#35,214
“larva” frequency rank
#870
“leva” frequency rank
36084
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature larva leva
Definition embrião que se torna livre abandonando normalmente os invólucros ovulares ou o organismo progenitor ato de levantar a âncora

Where the eye mixes larva and leva

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
larva
4 ch
leva

Visual trap between larva and leva

A purely visual mix-up. larva (/'lar.va/) and leva (/ˈlɛ.vɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36084, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

larva is recorded at frequency rank #35,214, classified as anoun, pronounced /'lar.va/. leva is at rank #870, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɛ.vɐ/.

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 36084, this pair ranks #30,801 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of larva vs leva

Shared letters: alv. Private to "larva": r. Private to "leva": e.

"larva" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "leva" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • larvaalrva · larav · larrva · larvva · llarva · lrava
  • levaelva · leav · levva · lleva · lvea

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "larva" for "leva" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/'lar.va/ versus /ˈlɛ.vɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "larva" vs "leva" - which ranks higher?
"leva" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #870 in our Portuguese list, against #35,214 for "larva". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "larva" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "leva" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #30,801 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "larva" and "leva" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laca vs larva". 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 #30,801 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