Which to use
“lesão” and “lesma” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,219
- “lesão” frequency rank
- #39,714
- “lesma” frequency rank
- 44933
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lesão | lesma |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | contusão | nome vulgar dos moluscos pulmonados da família dos Limacídeos (mais particularmente os do género Limax Cuvier) |
Where the eye mixes lesão and lesma
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. lesão (CVCVV) and lesma (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses lesão with lesma
A purely visual mix-up. lesão (/lɨ.ˈzɐ̃w̃/) and lesma (/ˈleʒ.mɐ/) 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 44933, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lesão is recorded at frequency rank #5,219, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɨ.ˈzɐ̃w̃/. lesma is at rank #39,714, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈleʒ.mɐ/.
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 44933, this pair ranks #20,498 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of lesão vs lesma
Shared letters: els. Private to "lesão": oã. Private to "lesma": am.
"lesão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "lesma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lesma ← elsma · lemsa · lesam · lesmma · lessma · llesma · lsema
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "lesão" and "lesma" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "lesão" or "lesma"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "lesão" and "lesma" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "lesão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lesma" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,498 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lesão" and "lesma" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lesma vs lhama". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #20,498 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.