LebenvslemeConfusable pair

Which to use

“Leben” and “leme” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#49,556
“Leben” frequency rank
#12,478
“leme” frequency rank
62034
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Leben leme
Definition vida. superfície plana na parte traseira de um barco ou de um avião e que serve para os dirigir

Where the eye mixes Leben and leme

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Leben runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against leme's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
Leben
4 ch
leme

Why the eye confuses Leben with leme

A purely visual mix-up. Leben (/ˈleːbn̩, ˈleːbm̩/) and leme (/ˈlɛ.mɨ/) 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 62034, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Leben is recorded at frequency rank #49,556, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleːbn̩, ˈleːbm̩/. leme is at rank #12,478, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɛ.mɨ/.

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 62034, this pair ranks #6,863 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of Leben vs leme

Shared letters: el. Private to "Leben": bn. Private to "leme": m.

"Leben" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "leme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Leben ← elben · lbeen · lebben · lebenn · lebne · leebn · lleben
  • leme ← elme · leem · lemme · lleme · lmee

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "Leben" and "leme" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈleːbn̩, ˈleːbm̩/ versus /ˈlɛ.mɨ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Leben" or "leme"?
"leme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,478 in our Portuguese list, against #49,556 for "Leben". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "Leben" and "leme" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "Leben" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "leme" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #6,863 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "Leben" and "leme" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Leben vs len". 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 #6,863 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list