lasvslewWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: las is a pronoun, lew is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“las” is a pronoun and “lew” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#852
“las” frequency rank
#37,890
“lew” frequency rank
38742
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature las lew
Definition as, pronome demonstrativo leão

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set las and lew apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
las
3 ch
lew

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: las is apronoun and lewanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38742, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

las is recorded at frequency rank #852, classified as apron. lew is at rank #37,890, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɛf/.

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 38742, this pair ranks #27,648 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of las vs lew

Shared letters: l. Private to "las": as. Private to "lew": ew.

"las" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "lew" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

las#852
lew#37,890

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "las" and "lew" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "las" is a pronoun and "lew" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "las" or "lew"?
"las" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #852 in our Portuguese list, against #37,890 for "lew". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering las vs lew

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “las”; for a noun, it's “lew”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “las” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list