Which to use
“lau” and “lean” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,230
- “lau” frequency rank
- #29,804
- “lean” frequency rank
- 51034
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lau | lean |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | morno, tépido: | magro, sem excessos, sem peso extra, enxuto |
Where the eye mixes lau and lean
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lau runs 3 letters (CVV) against lean's 4 (CVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: lau vs lean
A purely visual mix-up. lau (/ˈlaʊ̯/) and lean (/liːn/) 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 51034, 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/. lean is at rank #29,804, tagged as anadj, pronounced /liːn/.
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 51034, this pair ranks #13,954 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lau vs lean
Shared letters: al. Private to "lau": u. Private to "lean": en.
"lau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "lean" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- lean ← elan · leann · lena · llean
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lau" for "lean" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lau" vs "lean" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "lau" and "lean" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lean" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,954 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lau" and "lean" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lean vs Leben". 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 #13,954 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.