alçadavsarcadaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,518
“alçada” frequency rank
#36,747
“arcada” frequency rank
59265
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alçada arcada
Definition limite de ação de um magistrado abóbada arqueada

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alçada and arcada apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
alçada
6 ch
arcada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. alçada (/aɫ.ˈsa.dɐ/) and arcada (/ɐɾ.ˈka.dɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59265, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alçada is recorded at frequency rank #22,518, classified as anoun, pronounced /aɫ.ˈsa.dɐ/. arcada is at rank #36,747, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐɾ.ˈka.dɐ/.

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 59265, this pair ranks #8,279 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of alçada vs arcada

Shared letters: ad. Private to "alçada": . Private to "arcada": cr.

"alçada" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "arcada" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • arcadaacrada · aracda · arcaad · arcadda · arccada · arcdaa · arrcada · racada

Frequency comparison

alçada#22,518
arcada#36,747

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alçada" and "arcada" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/aɫ.ˈsa.dɐ/ versus /ɐɾ.ˈka.dɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "alçada" or "arcada"?
"alçada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,518 in our Portuguese list, against #36,747 for "arcada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alçada vs arcada

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 “alçada” 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