Which to use
“lento” is an adjective and “lesão” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,318
- “lento” frequency rank
- #5,219
- “lesão” frequency rank
- 10537
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lento | lesão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vagaroso | contusão |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lento and lesão apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lento is /ˈlẽ.tu/ while lesão is /lɨ.ˈzɐ̃w̃/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10537, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lento is recorded at frequency rank #5,318, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈlẽ.tu/. 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 10537, this pair ranks #62,533 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lento vs lesão
Shared letters: elo. Private to "lento": nt. Private to "lesão": sã.
"lento" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "lesão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lento ← elnto · lennto · lenot · lentto · letno · llento · lneto
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lento" and "lesão" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lento" or "lesão"?
Remembering lento vs lesão
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “lento”; for a noun, it's “lesão”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lento” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable