Which to use
“lícito” and “lírico” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,231
- “lícito” frequency rank
- #30,630
- “lírico” frequency rank
- 70861
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lícito | lírico |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que está de acordo com a lei | estilo elevado, mavioso e apaixonado |
Where the eye mixes lícito and lírico
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. lícito and lírico follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses lícito with lírico
A purely visual mix-up. lícito (/ˈli.si.tu/) and lírico (/ˈli.ɾi.ku/) 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 70861, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lícito is recorded at frequency rank #40,231, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈli.si.tu/. lírico is at rank #30,630, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈli.ɾi.ku/.
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 70861, this pair ranks #3,506 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lícito vs lírico
Shared letters: ciloí. Private to "lícito": t. Private to "lírico": r.
"lícito" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "lírico" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lícito" for "lírico" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "lícito" or "lírico" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "lícito" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lírico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #3,506 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lícito" and "lírico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "lírico vs lirismo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #3,506 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.