adiçãovsadoçãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“adição” and “adoção” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#8,565
“adição” frequency rank
#5,487
“adoção” frequency rank
14052
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature adição adoção
Definition ato ou efeito de adir ação ou resultado de adotar, de aceitar (alguém ou algo)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set adição and adoção apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
adição
6 ch
adoção

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. adição (/ɐ.di.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 a single letter - i in “adição” becomes o in “adoção”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14052, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

adição is recorded at frequency rank #8,565, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐ.di.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 14052, this pair ranks #58,137 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of adição vs adoção

Shared letters: adoãç. Private to "adição": i. Private to "adoção": -.

"adição" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVV  ·  "adoção" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVV

Frequency comparison

adição#8,565
adoção#5,487

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "adição" and "adoção" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɐ.di.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /a.doˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "adição" or "adoção"?
"adoção" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,487 in our Portuguese list, against #8,565 for "adição". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering adição vs adoção

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “adição” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list