Which to use
“lava” and “lema” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,702
- “lava” frequency rank
- #7,042
- “lema” frequency rank
- 10744
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lava | lema |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | designação dada ao material geológico em fusão, com temperatura em geral entre os 600 °C e os 1 250 °C, que um vulcão expele durante uma erupção | ideia expressa por uma frase que serve de guia ou de motivação para uma pessoa, grupo, seita, país ou nação |
Where the eye mixes lava and lema
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lava with lema
A purely visual mix-up. lava (/ˈla.vɐ/) and lema (/ˈle.mɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10744, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lava is recorded at frequency rank #3,702, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈla.vɐ/. lema is at rank #7,042, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈle.mɐ/.
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 10744, this pair ranks #62,279 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lava vs lema
Shared letters: al. Private to "lava": v. Private to "lema": em.
"lava" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lema" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lava" and "lema" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lava" or "lema"?
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 "lava" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lema" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,279 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lava" and "lema" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laca vs lema". 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 #62,279 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.