luarvsluiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: luar is a noun, lui is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“luar” is a noun and “lui” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#16,331
“luar” frequency rank
#34,790
“lui” frequency rank
51121
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature luar lui
Definition luz do sol que é refletida pela Lua alugar (tomar de aluguel)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set luar and lui apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
luar
3 ch
lui

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

luar and lui form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

luar is recorded at frequency rank #16,331, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlwaɾ/. lui is at rank #34,790, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlu.i/..

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 51121, this pair ranks #13,875 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Frequency comparison

luar#16,331
lui#34,790

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "luar" and "lui" be used interchangeably?
No, "luar" and "lui" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering luar vs lui

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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