Which to use
“lenço” and “lesão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,847
- “lenço” frequency rank
- #5,219
- “lesão” frequency rank
- 21066
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lenço | lesão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pedaço de pano quadrado que serve para: | contusão |
Where the eye mixes lenço and lesão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: lenço vs lesão
A purely visual mix-up. lenço (/ˈlẽ.su/) and lesão (/lɨ.ˈzɐ̃w̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21066, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lenço is recorded at frequency rank #15,847, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlẽ.su/. lesão is at rank #5,219, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lɨ.ˈzɐ̃w̃/.
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 21066, this pair ranks #49,287 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lenço vs lesão
Shared letters: elo. Private to "lenço": nç. Private to "lesão": sã.
"lenço" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "lesão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lenço" for "lesão" ever safe?
Frequency check: "lenço" vs "lesão" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "lenço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lesão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,287 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lenço" and "lesão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lenço vs lince". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #49,287 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.