calhau

/kɐ.ˈʎaw/

//kɐ.ˈʎaw// noun

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

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
2,140
“C” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - fragmento de rocha dura; pedra solta; seixo; rebo

Corpus desk

Index PT-calhau · calhau · Portuguese

calhau · rank #41,869 · 8 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #41,869
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH caiaque

Nearest frequency peer: caiaque (-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.

Pares de rank junto ao íman ortográfico “calhau”

Mesma faixa de raridade: útil se um typo cair num lema vizinho

corpus weight

What this shows “calhau” está entre estes pares FrequencyWords; a profundidade de typo mede-se à parte no gráfico de distância de edição.

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).

calhau vs chau
67% similar
calhau vs calma
67% similar
calhau vs canhão
50% similar

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

Key facts for calhau
PropertyValue
Headwordcalhau
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kɐ.ˈʎaw/
Letters6
Frequency rank#41,869
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequência do íman ortográfico “calhau”

A frequência vai do punhado de palavras do dia a dia (esquerda) à cauda longa quase nunca usada (direita).calhaucai aqui:

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

A escala é logarítmica (cada marca ≈ 10× mais rara). Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “caiaque” (#41,868), “caderneta” (#41,867), “buscador” (#41,864). Entre 2,140 lemas com “C”, “calhau” fica em #41,869. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around calhau (IPA /kɐ.ˈʎaw/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #41,869 among 2,140 “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

  1. 1
    fragmento de rocha dura; pedra solta; seixo; rebo
  2. 2
    branco com que se completa a medida, em páginas curtas
  3. 3
    anúncio gracioso ou aceito a preço reduzido, para publicação quando sobra espaço no jornal
  4. 4
    pequeno texto ou clichê aproveitado para preencher claros na paginação de jornal ou de revista
  5. 5
    coisa grande, enorme
  6. 6
    indivíduo estúpido, de cabeça dura, incapaz de aprender
  7. 7
    mulher de má reputação
  8. 8
    competição onde ganha quem atire uma pedra o mais longe

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how calhau appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Pois olhe só o que eles têm tirado de lá: umas lascas, uns calhaus que não servem para nada!
  2. O novo barco]] do João é um calhau.

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.

aclhau2cahlau2calahu2calhhau1calhua2callhau1ccalhau1clahau2
Edit distance from "calhau"

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"?
"calhau" is spelled C-A-L-H-A-U. The IPA pronunciation is /kɐ.ˈʎaw/.
What does "calhau" mean?
As a noun, "calhau" means: fragmento de rocha dura; pedra solta; seixo; rebo
What words are commonly confused with "calhau"?
"calhau" is commonly confused with "chau", "calma", "canhão". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "calhau"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "calhau" is /kɐ.ˈʎaw/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "calhau" come from?
"calhau" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "calhau", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

borrar#41,857colcha#41,894cravar#41,924donner#41,960

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

caiaque8 variantscolosso8 variantssutura8 variantssonata8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list