len vs lhes, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“len” is an adverb and “lhes” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#30,622
“len” frequency rank: #1,095
“lhes” frequency rank: 31717
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	len	lhes
Definition	só, apenas, somente	pronome pessoal dativo, de dois gêneros, da terceira pessoa do plural (eles, elas, vocês)

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch

len

4 ch

lhes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: len is anadverb and lhesapronoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31717, 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/. lhes is at rank #1,095, tagged as apron.

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 31717, this pair ranks #36,272 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of len vs lhes

Shared letters: el. Private to "len": n. Private to "lhes": hs.

"len" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "lhes" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

lhes ← hles · lehs · lhess · lhhes · lhse · llhes

Frequency comparison

len#30,622

lhes#1,095

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "len" and "lhes" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "len" is an adverb and "lhes" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "len" or "lhes"?

"lhes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,095 in our Portuguese list, against #30,622 for "len". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering len vs lhes

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “len”; for a pronoun, it's “lhes”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “len” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable