Which to use
“lui” is a verb and “lupa” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,790
- “lui” frequency rank
- #30,241
- “lupa” frequency rank
- 65031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lui | lupa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | alugar (tomar de aluguel) | lente convergente que aumenta o diâmetro aparente dos objetos |
Where the eye mixes lui and lupa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. lui runs 3 letters (CVV) against lupa's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses lui with lupa
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: lui is /ˈlu.i/. while lupa is /ˈlu.pɐ/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lui is recorded at frequency rank #34,790, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈlu.i/.. lupa is at rank #30,241, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlu.pɐ/.
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 65031, this pair ranks #5,551 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of lui vs lupa
Shared letters: lu. Private to "lui": i. Private to "lupa": ap.
"lui" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "lupa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- lupa ← llupa · lpua · luap · luppa · ulpa
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "lui" for "lupa" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "lui" or "lupa" 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 "lui" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "lupa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #5,551 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "lui" and "lupa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ludo vs lui". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #5,551 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.