lemevsletConfusable pair

Which to use

“leme” and “let” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#12,478
“leme” frequency rank
#6,782
“let” frequency rank
19260
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature leme let
Definition superfície plana na parte traseira de um barco ou de um avião e que serve para os dirigir obstáculo

Where the eye mixes leme and let

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
leme
3 ch
let

Why the eye confuses leme with let

A purely visual mix-up. leme (/ˈlɛ.mɨ/) and let (/lɛt/ Áudio (EUA)^(fonte ?)) 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 19260, 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/. let is at rank #6,782, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɛt/ Áudio (EUA)^(fonte ?).

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 19260, this pair ranks #51,517 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of leme vs let

Shared letters: el. Private to "leme": m. Private to "let": t.

"leme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "let" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lemeelme · leem · lemme · lleme · lmee

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "leme" for "let" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈlɛ.mɨ/ versus /lɛt/ Áudio (EUA)^(fonte ?)) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "leme" or "let" show up more?
"let" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,782 in our Portuguese list, against #12,478 for "leme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "leme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "let" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #51,517 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "leme" and "let" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Leben vs leme". 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 #51,517 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list