Which to use
“leal” and “lean” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,202
- “leal” frequency rank
- #29,804
- “lean” frequency rank
- 36006
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leal | lean |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que cumpre as suas promessas | magro, sem excessos, sem peso extra, enxuto |
Where the eye mixes leal and lean
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses leal with lean
A purely visual mix-up. leal (/ˈljaɫ/) 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 a single letter - l in “leal” becomes n in “lean”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36006, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leal is recorded at frequency rank #6,202, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈljaɫ/. 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 36006, this pair ranks #30,910 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of leal vs lean
Shared letters: ael. Private to "leal": -. Private to "lean": n.
"leal" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "lean" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "leal" for "lean" ever safe?
Frequency check: "leal" vs "lean" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "leal" 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 #30,910 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leal" 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 #30,910 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.