Which to use
“lema” and “lesma” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,042
- “lema” frequency rank
- #39,714
- “lesma” frequency rank
- 46756
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lema | lesma |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ideia expressa por uma frase que serve de guia ou de motivação para uma pessoa, grupo, seita, país ou nação | nome vulgar dos moluscos pulmonados da família dos Limacídeos (mais particularmente os do género Limax Cuvier) |
Where the eye mixes lema and lesma
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lema runs 4 letters (CVCV) against lesma's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lema with lesma
A purely visual mix-up. lema (/ˈle.mɐ/) and lesma (/ˈleʒ.mɐ/) 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 46756, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lema is recorded at frequency rank #7,042, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈle.mɐ/. lesma is at rank #39,714, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈleʒ.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 46756, this pair ranks #18,555 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lema vs lesma
Shared letters: aelm. Private to "lema": -. Private to "lesma": s.
"lema" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lesma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lema" and "lesma" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "lema" or "lesma" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lema" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lesma" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,555 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lema" and "lesma" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lesma vs lhama". 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 #18,555 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.