lealvslegWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: leal is a adjective, leg is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“leal” is an adjective and “leg” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,202
“leal” frequency rank
#33,059
“leg” frequency rank
39261
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leal leg
Definition que cumpre as suas promessas perna

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
leal
3 ch
leg

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: leal is /ˈljaɫ/ while leg is /lɛɡ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39261, 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/. leg is at rank #33,059, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɛɡ/.

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 39261, this pair ranks #27,039 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of leal vs leg

Shared letters: el. Private to "leal": a. Private to "leg": g.

"leal" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "leg" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lealelal · lael · leall · lela · lleal

Frequency comparison

leal#6,202
leg#33,059

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leal" and "leg" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "leal" is an adjective and "leg" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "leal" or "leg"?
"leal" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,202 in our Portuguese list, against #33,059 for "leg". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering leal vs leg

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “leal”; for a noun, it's “leg”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “leal” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list