calhau
/kɐ.ˈʎaw/
The verdict
“calhau” has 8 generated spelling variants in the Portuguese index at frequency #41,869. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #41,869
- frequency rank, Portuguese
- 3,948
- “C” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 10
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - fragmento de rocha dura; pedra solta; seixo; rebo
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | calhau |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /kɐ.ˈʎaw/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #41,869 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 10 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “calhau” sits in Portuguese frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around calhau (IPA /kɐ.ˈʎaw/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #41,869 among 3,948 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for calhau, with forms such as "aclhau", "cahlau", and "calahu". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "chau", "calma", "canhão", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Portuguese form is calhau, spelled C-A-L-H-A-U.
Definition
- 1fragmento de rocha dura; pedra solta; seixo; rebo
- 2branco com que se completa a medida, em páginas curtas
- 3anúncio gracioso ou aceito a preço reduzido, para publicação quando sobra espaço no jornal
- 4pequeno texto ou clichê aproveitado para preencher claros na paginação de jornal ou de revista
- 5coisa grande, enorme
- 6indivíduo estúpido, de cabeça dura, incapaz de aprender
- 7mulher de má reputação
- 8competição onde ganha quem atire uma pedra o mais longe
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- aclhau
- cahlau
- calahu
- calhhau
- calhua
- callhau
- ccalhau
- clahau
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of calhau - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "calhau"?
What does "calhau" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "calhau"?
How do you pronounce "calhau"?
What language does "calhau" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “calhau”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct Portuguese spelling is C-A-L-H-A-U - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /kɐ.ˈʎaw/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “chau” - see the side-by-side comparison. calhau vs chau
- Browse more Portuguese words and confusable pairs in the same reference. Portuguese words
Same frequency band
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.