Which to use
“len” is an adverb and “lenço” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #30,622
- “len” frequency rank
- #15,847
- “lenço” frequency rank
- 46469
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | len | lenço |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | só, apenas, somente | pedaço de pano quadrado que serve para: |
Where the eye mixes len and lenço
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between len and lenço
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: len is /ʎen/ while lenço is /ˈlẽ.su/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “len” sits inside “lenço”, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46469, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
len is recorded at frequency rank #30,622, classified as anadv, pronounced /ʎen/. lenço is at rank #15,847, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlẽ.su/.
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 46469, this pair ranks #18,828 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of len vs lenço
Shared letters: eln. Private to "len": -. Private to "lenço": oç.
"len" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lenço" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "len" for "lenço" ever safe?
Frequency check: "len" vs "lenço" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "len" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lenço" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,828 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "len" and "lenço" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Leben vs len". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #18,828 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.