Which to use
“lema” and “lhama” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,042
- “lema” frequency rank
- #42,084
- “lhama” frequency rank
- 49126
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lema | lhama |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ideia expressa por uma frase que serve de guia ou de motivação para uma pessoa, grupo, seita, país ou nação | mamífero ruminante andino, de pescoço longo e pelo lanoso, parente do camelo, conhecido por cuspir quando é desagradado e pela sua lã; o mesmo que lama |
Where the eye mixes lema and lhama
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lema runs 4 letters (CVCV) against lhama's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between lema and lhama
A purely visual mix-up. lema (/ˈle.mɐ/) and lhama (/ˈʎɐ̃.ma/) 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 49126, 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/. lhama is at rank #42,084, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈʎɐ̃.ma/.
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 49126, this pair ranks #15,953 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lema vs lhama
Shared letters: alm. Private to "lema": e. Private to "lhama": h.
"lema" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lhama" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lema" and "lhama" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lema" or "lhama"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "lema" and "lhama" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lema" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lhama" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,953 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lema" and "lhama" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lhama vs liana". 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 #15,953 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.