Which to use
“abdução” and “adoção” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #40,869
- “abdução” frequency rank
- #5,487
- “adoção” frequency rank
- 46356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | abdução | adoção |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de afastar membros ou partes de membros do corpo humano | ação ou resultado de adotar, de aceitar (alguém ou algo) |
Where the eye mixes abdução and adoção
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. abdução runs 7 letters (VCCVCVV) against adoção's 6 (VCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses abdução with adoção
A purely visual mix-up. abdução (/ɐb.du.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and adoção (/a.doˈsɐ̃w̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
abdução is recorded at frequency rank #40,869, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐb.du.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. adoção is at rank #5,487, tagged as anoun, pronounced /a.doˈsɐ̃w̃/.
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 46356, this pair ranks #18,958 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of abdução vs adoção
Shared letters: adoãç. Private to "abdução": bu. Private to "adoção": -.
"abdução" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV · "adoção" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "abdução" for "adoção" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "abdução" or "adoção" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "abdução" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "adoção" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,958 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "abdução" and "adoção" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "abdicar vs abdução". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #18,958 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.