cal

/ˈkaɫ/

//ˈkaɫ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“cal” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #11,223) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#11,223
frequency rank, Portuguese
2,140
“C” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - nome vulgar do óxido de cálcio (também chamado cal viva, cal virgem ou cal cáustica)

Corpus desk

Index PT-cal · cal · Portuguese

cal · rank #11,223 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,223
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH cabra

Nearest frequency peer: cabra (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “cal”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “cal” sits against the nearest ranked Portuguese headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cal vs co
33% similar
cal vs ce
33% similar
cal vs cu
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cal
PropertyValue
Headwordcal
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkaɫ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#11,223
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “cal” sits in Portuguese frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cal lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for cal is neighbouring look-alikes ("co", "ce", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ˈkaɫ/. Frequency #11,223 among 2,140 “C” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

No misspelling variants are generated for cal in our index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "co", "ce", "cu", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct Portuguese form is cal, spelled C-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    nome vulgar do óxido de cálcio (também chamado cal viva, cal virgem ou cal cáustica)
  2. 2
    nome vulgar do hidróxido de cálcio (cal morta, cal hidratada, cal extinta, cal apagada, branco de cal)

This word in other languages

lime(English)cal(Español)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cal"?
"cal" is spelled C-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkaɫ/.
What does "cal" mean?
As a noun, "cal" means: nome vulgar do óxido de cálcio (também chamado cal viva, cal virgem ou cal cáustica)
What words are commonly confused with "cal"?
"cal" is commonly confused with "co", "ce", "cu". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cal"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cal" is /ˈkaɫ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "cal" come from?
"cal" is a Portuguese word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Portuguese words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cal", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ask#11,211cut#11,244vol#10,986che#11,600

What to do next

You've looked up "cal". Here's where to go from here.

  • "cal" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "co". View pair
  • Usage frequency rank #11,223 among Portuguese headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more Portuguese words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list