Which to use
“leme” and “lie” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,478
- “leme” frequency rank
- #31,038
- “lie” frequency rank
- 43516
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leme | lie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | superfície plana na parte traseira de um barco ou de um avião e que serve para os dirigir | mentira |
Where the eye mixes leme and lie
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. leme runs 4 letters (CVCV) against lie's 3 (CVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: leme vs lie
A purely visual mix-up. leme (/ˈlɛ.mɨ/) and lie (/ˈlaɪ/) 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 43516, 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/. lie is at rank #31,038, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlaɪ/.
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 43516, this pair ranks #22,103 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of leme vs lie
Shared letters: el. Private to "leme": m. Private to "lie": i.
"leme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lie" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- leme ← elme · leem · lemme · lleme · lmee
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "leme" and "lie" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "leme" or "lie" show up more?
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 "leme" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,103 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leme" and "lie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lie vs Lied". 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 #22,103 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.