princípio

Name: princípio, Portuguese Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“princípio” has 13 generated spelling variants in the Portuguese index at frequency #1,905. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,905
frequency rank, Portuguese: 1,578
“P” headwords: 13
tracked misspellings: 3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - o que vem primeiro, origem, início, começo

Corpus desk

Index PT-principio · princípio · Portuguese

princípio · rank #1,905 · 13 variants · 3 confusables

FREQ-COMMON #1,905
LEN-LONG 9 letters
VOW-4 4 vowels
CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
VAR-HIGH 13 variants
BOOK-MID 1,578
PHOTO-FINISH potencial

Nearest frequency peer: potencial (-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.

perigo

98,099
pista

98,098
potencial

98,097
princípio

98,096
raiva

98,095
sítio

98,093

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

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

princípio vs príncipe

56% similar

princípio vs principal

67% similar

princípio vs principado

70% similar

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

Key facts for princípio
Property	Value
Headword	princípio
Language	Portuguese
Part of speech	Noun
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#1,905
Misspellings tracked	13
Confusable pairs	3
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequência do íman ortográfico “princípio”

Da esquerda para a direita: o pouco que carrega a fala diária, depois a cauda longa quase invisível.princípiocai aqui:

#1,905

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

O eixo é logarítmico: cada tick marca cerca de dez vezes menos frequência. Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “potencial” (#1,904), “raiva” (#1,906), “pista” (#1,903). Entre 1,578 lemas com “P”, “princípio” fica em #1,905. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around princípio, anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,905 among 1,578 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for princípio, with forms such as "pirncípio", "pprincípio", and "pricnípio". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "príncipe", "principal", "principado", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

No documented word history exists for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct Portuguese form is princípio, spelled P-R-I-N-C-Í-P-I-O.

Definition

1
o que vem primeiro, origem, início, começo
2
a essência, o fundamento de algo
3
suposição ou proposição fundamental
4
norma de conduta, seja uma máxima, lei ou regra moral
5
regra que tem que ser seguida, ou é uma consequência inevitável de algo, tal como as leis observadas na natureza

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

O princípio do canto rematava em um certo lá.
O princípio da sabedoria é viver conforme a natureza.

This word in other languages

beginning(English)principio(Español)début(Français)Anfang(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

pirncípio
pprincípio
pricnípio
princcípio
princpíio
princíipo
princípoi
princíppio
prinncípio
prinícpio
prnicípio
prrincípio
rpincípio

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of princípio - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "princípio"

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 "princípio"?

"princípio" is spelled P-R-I-N-C-Í-P-I-O.

What does "princípio" mean?

As a noun, "princípio" means: o que vem primeiro, origem, início, começo

What words are commonly confused with "princípio"?

"princípio" is commonly confused with "príncipe", "principal", "principado". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

What language does "princípio" come from?

"princípio" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.

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 "princípio", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

potencial#1,904 perguntar#1,901 excelente#1,926 exposição#1,884

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

homenagem13 variants declaração13 variants documento13 variants iniciativa13 variants