lau vs lead, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#21,230
“lau” frequency rank: #17,835
“lead” frequency rank: 39065
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	lau	lead
Definition	morno, tépido:	o mais importante

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lau and lead apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

lau

4 ch

lead

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lau (/ˈlaʊ̯/) and lead (AFI: /lɛd/) 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 39065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lau is recorded at frequency rank #21,230, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈlaʊ̯/. lead is at rank #17,835, tagged as anadj, pronounced AFI: /lɛd/.

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 39065, this pair ranks #27,276 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lau vs lead

Shared letters: al. Private to "lau": u. Private to "lead": de.

"lau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "lead" · 4 letters · shape CVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

lead ← elad · laed · leadd · leda · llead

Frequency comparison

lau#21,230

lead#17,835

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lau" and "lead" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈlaʊ̯/ versus AFI: /lɛd/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "lau" or "lead"?

"lead" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,835 in our Portuguese list, against #21,230 for "lau". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lau vs lead

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lau” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable