Which to use
“lengua” and “língua” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,560
- “lengua” frequency rank
- #536
- “língua” frequency rank
- 50096
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lengua | língua |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | língua | órgão da boca, auxiliar da mastigação e deglutição e responsável pela articulação dos sons; órgão da fala |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lengua and língua apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
lengua and língua are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - e in “lengua” becomes í in “língua”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50096, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lengua is recorded at frequency rank #49,560, classified as anoun. língua is at rank #536, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlĩ.ɡwɐ/.
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 50096, this pair ranks #14,887 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lengua vs língua
Shared letters: aglnu. Private to "lengua": e. Private to "língua": í.
"lengua" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "língua" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lengua ← elngua · legnua · lengau · lenggua · lenngua · lenuga · llengua · lnegua
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lengua" and "língua" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lengua" or "língua"?
Remembering lengua vs língua
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lengua” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable