Which to use
“lau” is an adjective and “lui” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,230
- “lau” frequency rank
- #34,790
- “lui” frequency rank
- 56020
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lau | lui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | morno, tépido: | alugar (tomar de aluguel) |
Where the eye mixes lau and lui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lau and lui follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between lau and lui
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lau is /ˈlaʊ̯/ while lui is /ˈlu.i/.. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56020, 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/. lui is at rank #34,790, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlu.i/..
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 56020, this pair ranks #10,231 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lau vs lui
Shared letters: lu. Private to "lau": a. Private to "lui": i.
"lau" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "lui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lau" for "lui" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lau" vs "lui" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #10,231 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lau" and "lui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ludo vs lui". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #10,231 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.