lesmavsletraWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,714
“lesma” frequency rank
#2,238
“letra” frequency rank
41952
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lesma letra
Definition nome vulgar dos moluscos pulmonados da família dos Limacídeos (mais particularmente os do género Limax Cuvier) representação gráfica dos sons de um idioma

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
lesma
5 ch
letra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. lesma (/ˈleʒ.mɐ/) and letra (/ˈle.tɾɐ/) 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 41952, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

lesma is recorded at frequency rank #39,714, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈleʒ.mɐ/. letra is at rank #2,238, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈle.tɾɐ/.

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 41952, this pair ranks #23,894 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of lesma vs letra

Shared letters: ael. Private to "lesma": ms. Private to "letra": rt.

"lesma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "letra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • lesmaelsma · lemsa · lesam · lesmma · lessma · llesma · lsema
  • letraeltra · lerta · letar · letrra · lettra · lletra · ltera

Frequency comparison

lesma#39,714
letra#2,238

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lesma" and "letra" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈleʒ.mɐ/ versus /ˈle.tɾɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "lesma" or "letra"?
"letra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,238 in our Portuguese list, against #39,714 for "lesma". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering lesma vs letra

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 “lesma” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list