línguavslínguasWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#536
“língua” frequency rank
#2,151
“línguas” frequency rank
2687
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature língua línguas
Definition órgão da boca, auxiliar da mastigação e deglutição e responsável pela articulação dos sons; órgão da fala plural do substantivo língua

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set língua and línguas apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
língua
7 ch
línguas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

língua and línguas are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “língua” sits inside “línguas”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2687, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

língua is recorded at frequency rank #536, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlĩ.ɡwɐ/. línguas is at rank #2,151, tagged as anoun.

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 2687, this pair ranks #72,607 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of língua vs línguas

Shared letters: aglnuí. Private to "língua": -. Private to "línguas": s.

"língua" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "línguas" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC

Frequency comparison

língua#536
línguas#2,151

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "língua" and "línguas" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “língua” sits inside “línguas”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "língua" or "línguas"?
"língua" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #536 in our Portuguese list, against #2,151 for "línguas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering língua vs línguas

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 “língua” 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