Which to use
“leme” and “lume” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,478
- “leme” frequency rank
- #22,378
- “lume” frequency rank
- 34856
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | leme | lume |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | superfície plana na parte traseira de um barco ou de um avião e que serve para os dirigir | fogo |
Where the eye mixes leme and lume
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses leme with lume
A purely visual mix-up. leme (/ˈlɛ.mɨ/) and lume (/ˈlu.mɨ/) 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 a single letter - e in “leme” becomes u in “lume”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34856, 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/. lume is at rank #22,378, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlu.mɨ/.
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 34856, this pair ranks #32,312 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of leme vs lume
Shared letters: elm. Private to "leme": -. Private to "lume": u.
"leme" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "lume" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "leme" and "lume" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "leme" or "lume"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "leme" and "lume" 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 "lume" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,312 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "leme" and "lume" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ludo vs lume". 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 #32,312 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.