latavslatirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,442
“lata” frequency rank
#38,344
“latir” frequency rank
44786
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lata latir
Definition folha de ferro laminada e estanhada o mesmo que latido

Where the eye mixes lata and latir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lata runs 4 letters (CVCV) against latir's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

4 ch
lata
5 ch
latir

Look-alike desk: lata vs latir

A purely visual mix-up. lata (/ˈla.tɐ/) and latir (/lɐ.ˈtiɾ/) 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 44786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lata is recorded at frequency rank #6,442, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈla.tɐ/. latir is at rank #38,344, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɐ.ˈtiɾ/.

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 44786, this pair ranks #20,647 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lata vs latir

Shared letters: alt. Private to "lata": -. Private to "latir": ir.

"lata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "latir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lata ← laat · latta · llata · ltaa
  • latir ← altir · laitr · latirr · latri · lattir · llatir · ltair

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "lata" and "latir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈla.tɐ/ versus /lɐ.ˈtiɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lata" or "latir"?
"lata" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,442 in our Portuguese list, against #38,344 for "latir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "lata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "latir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #20,647 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "lata" and "latir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "latido vs latir". 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 #20,647 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