lebrevslemeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,704
“lebre” frequency rank
#12,478
“leme” frequency rank
35182
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lebre leme
Definition mamífero da família Leporidae, parente do coelho, maior e mais rápido que este; seu macho é o lebrão superfície plana na parte traseira de um barco ou de um avião e que serve para os dirigir

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lebre and leme apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
lebre
4 ch
leme

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lebre ([ˈlɛ.bɾi]) 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 35182, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lebre is recorded at frequency rank #22,704, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈlɛ.bɾi]. 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 35182, this pair ranks #31,903 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lebre vs leme

Shared letters: el. Private to "lebre": br. Private to "leme": m.

"lebre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "leme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lebreelbre · lbere · lebbre · leber · lebrre · lerbe · llebre
  • lemeelme · leem · lemme · lleme · lmee

Frequency comparison

lebre#22,704
leme#12,478

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lebre" and "leme" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈlɛ.bɾi] versus /ˈlɛ.mɨ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lebre" or "leme"?
"leme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,478 in our Portuguese list, against #22,704 for "lebre". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lebre vs leme

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lebre” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list