autódromovsautónomoTell them apart

Quick tell: autódromo is a noun, autónomo is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“autódromo” is a noun and “autónomo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,366
“autódromo” frequency rank
#33,282
“autónomo” frequency rank
60648
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature autódromo autónomo
Definition lugar onde se realizam corridas, como as de Fórmula Um, por exemplo que goza de autonomia; independente

Where the eye mixes autódromo and autónomo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.

9 ch
autódromo
8 ch
autónomo

Why the eye confuses autódromo with autónomo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: autódromo is /aw.ˈtɔ.dɾu.mu/ while autónomo is /aw.ˈtɔ.nu.mu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60648, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

autódromo is recorded at frequency rank #27,366, classified as anoun, pronounced /aw.ˈtɔ.dɾu.mu/. autónomo is at rank #33,282, tagged as anadj, pronounced /aw.ˈtɔ.nu.mu/.

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 60648, this pair ranks #7,538 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of autódromo vs autónomo

Shared letters: amotuó. Private to "autódromo": dr. Private to "autónomo": n.

"autódromo" · 9 letters · shape VVCVCCVCV  ·  "autónomo" · 8 letters · shape VVCVCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "autódromo" for "autónomo" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "autódromo" is a noun and "autónomo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "autódromo" or "autónomo"?
"autódromo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,366 in our Portuguese list, against #33,282 for "autónomo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "autódromo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "autónomo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #7,538 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "autódromo" and "autónomo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "astrônomo vs autónomo". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #7,538 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list