Which to use
“limão” and “lítio” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,316
- “limão” frequency rank
- #26,804
- “lítio” frequency rank
- 33120
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | limão | lítio |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fruto do limoeiro, de forma ovoide, cítrico de cor verde-amarela e de sabor ácido | 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 eye mixes limão and lítio
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. limão and lítio follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses limão with lítio
A purely visual mix-up. limão (/li.ˈmɐ̃w̃/) and lítio (/ˈlitiu/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33120, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
limão is recorded at frequency rank #6,316, classified as anoun, pronounced /li.ˈmɐ̃w̃/. 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 33120, this pair ranks #34,486 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of limão vs lítio
Shared letters: ilo. Private to "limão": mã. Private to "lítio": tí.
"limão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "lítio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "limão" and "lítio" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "limão" or "lítio"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "limão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lítio" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #34,486 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "limão" and "lítio" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "latido vs lítio". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #34,486 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.