Which to use
“leme” and “lesma” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,478
- “leme” frequency rank
- #39,714
- “lesma” frequency rank
- 52192
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leme | lesma |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | superfície plana na parte traseira de um barco ou de um avião e que serve para os dirigir | nome vulgar dos moluscos pulmonados da família dos Limacídeos (mais particularmente os do género Limax Cuvier) |
Where the eye mixes leme and lesma
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. leme 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 leme with lesma
A purely visual mix-up. leme (/ˈlɛ.mɨ/) 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 52192, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
leme is recorded at frequency rank #12,478, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɛ.mɨ/. 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 52192, this pair ranks #12,957 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of leme vs lesma
Shared letters: elm. Private to "leme": -. Private to "lesma": as.
"leme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lesma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "leme" for "lesma" ever safe?
Which is more common, "leme" or "lesma"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "leme" and "lesma" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "leme" 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 #12,957 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leme" 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 #12,957 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.