Which to use
“lema” and “limão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,042
- “lema” frequency rank
- #6,316
- “limão” frequency rank
- 13358
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lema | limão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ideia expressa por uma frase que serve de guia ou de motivação para uma pessoa, grupo, seita, país ou nação | fruto do limoeiro, de forma ovoide, cítrico de cor verde-amarela e de sabor ácido |
Where the eye mixes lema and limão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lema runs 4 letters (CVCV) against limão's 5 (CVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: lema vs limão
A purely visual mix-up. lema (/ˈle.mɐ/) and limão (/li.ˈmɐ̃w̃/) 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 13358, 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/. limão is at rank #6,316, tagged as anoun, pronounced /li.ˈmɐ̃w̃/.
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 13358, this pair ranks #59,011 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lema vs limão
Shared letters: lm. Private to "lema": ae. Private to "limão": ioã.
"lema" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "limão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lema ← elma · leam · lemma · llema · lmea
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lema" and "limão" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "lema" vs "limão" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
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 "limão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,011 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lema" and "limão" 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 #59,011 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.