lesãovsloçãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“lesão” and “loção” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,219
“lesão” frequency rank
#32,245
“loção” frequency rank
37464
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lesão loção
Definition contusão líquido perfumado e levemente alcoolizado para o tratamento da pele e dos cabelos

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lesão and loção apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
lesão
5 ch
loção

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lesão (/lɨ.ˈzɐ̃w̃/) and loção (/lu.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 37464, 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/. loção is at rank #32,245, tagged as anoun, pronounced /lu.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.

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 37464, this pair ranks #29,144 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lesão vs loção

Shared letters: loã. Private to "lesão": es. Private to "loção": ç.

"lesão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "loção" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

lesão#5,219
loção#32,245

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lesão" and "loção" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/lɨ.ˈzɐ̃w̃/ versus /lu.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lesão" or "loção"?
"lesão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,219 in our Portuguese list, against #32,245 for "loção". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lesão vs loção

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 “lesão” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list