lícitovslítioWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: lícito is a adjective, lítio is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“lícito” is an adjective and “lítio” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#40,231
“lícito” frequency rank
#26,804
“lítio” frequency rank
67035
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature lícito lítio
Definition que está de acordo com a lei elemento químico de símbolo Li, possui o número atômico 3 e massa atômica relativa 7; não é encontrado livre na natureza; é um elemento da classe dos alcalinos; na sua forma pura, é um metal macio de coloração branco prateado; é utilizado para produção de ligas metálicas condutoras de calor, em baterias elétricas, vidros e prismas especiais e, como medicamento, no tratamento de certos tipos de depressão

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lícito and lítio apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
lícito
5 ch
lítio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lícito is /ˈli.si.tu/ while lítio is /ˈlitiu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67035, 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/. lítio is at rank #26,804, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlitiu/.

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 67035, this pair ranks #4,763 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of lícito vs lítio

Shared letters: ilotí. Private to "lícito": c. Private to "lítio": -.

"lícito" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "lítio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

lícito#40,231
lítio#26,804

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "lícito" and "lítio" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "lícito" is an adjective and "lítio" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "lícito" or "lítio"?
"lítio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,804 in our Portuguese list, against #40,231 for "lícito". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering lícito vs lítio

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “lícito”; for a noun, it's “lítio”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lícito” 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