lemavslhamaWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

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

4 ch
lema
5 ch
lhama

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • lemaelma · leam · lemma · llema · lmea
  • lhamahlama · lahma · lhaam · lhamma · lhhama · lhmaa · llhama

Frequency comparison

lema#7,042
lhama#42,084

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lema" and "lhama" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈle.mɐ/ versus /ˈʎɐ̃.ma/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lema" or "lhama"?
"lema" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,042 in our Portuguese list, against #42,084 for "lhama". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lema vs lhama

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 “lema” 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