leme vs lew, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#12,478
“leme” frequency rank: #37,890
“lew” frequency rank: 50368
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set leme and lew apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

leme

3 ch

lew

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. leme (/ˈlɛ.mɨ/) and lew (/lɛf/) 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 50368, 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/. lew is at rank #37,890, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɛf/.

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 50368, this pair ranks #14,606 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of leme vs lew

Shared letters: el. Private to "leme": m. Private to "lew": w.

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

Known mistypes of this pair

leme ← elme · leem · lemme · lleme · lmee

Frequency comparison

leme#12,478

lew#37,890

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "leme" and "lew" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈlɛ.mɨ/ versus /lɛf/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "leme" or "lew"?

"leme" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,478 in our Portuguese list, against #37,890 for "lew". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering leme vs lew

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 “leme” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable