Which to use
“lema” and “leva” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,042
- “lema” frequency rank
- #870
- “leva” frequency rank
- 7912
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lema | leva |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ideia expressa por uma frase que serve de guia ou de motivação para uma pessoa, grupo, seita, país ou nação | ato de levantar a âncora |
Where the eye mixes lema and leva
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses lema with leva
A purely visual mix-up. lema (/ˈle.mɐ/) and leva (/ˈlɛ.vɐ/) 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 - m in “lema” becomes v in “leva”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7912, 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/. leva is at rank #870, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɛ.vɐ/.
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 7912, this pair ranks #66,058 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lema vs leva
Shared letters: ael. Private to "lema": m. Private to "leva": v.
"lema" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "leva" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lema" and "leva" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "lema" vs "leva" - which ranks higher?
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 "leva" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #66,058 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lema" and "leva" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laca vs lema". 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 #66,058 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.