BalançavsbananaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,006
“Balança” frequency rank
#5,826
“banana” frequency rank
14832
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Balança banana
Definition um dos signos do Zodíaco fruto produzido pela bananeira

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
Balança
6 ch
banana

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Balança (/bɜˈłɜ̃sɜ/) and banana (/bɐ.ˈnɐ.nɐ/) 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 14832, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Balança is recorded at frequency rank #9,006, classified as anoun, pronounced /bɜˈłɜ̃sɜ/. banana is at rank #5,826, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bɐ.ˈnɐ.nɐ/.

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 14832, this pair ranks #57,153 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Balança vs banana

Shared letters: abn. Private to "Balança": . Private to "banana": -.

"Balança" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "banana" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bananaabnana · baanna · banaan · bananna · bannaa · bannana · bbanana · bnaana

Frequency comparison

Balança#9,006
banana#5,826

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Balança" and "banana" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/bɜˈłɜ̃sɜ/ versus /bɐ.ˈnɐ.nɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Balança" or "banana"?
"banana" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,826 in our Portuguese list, against #9,006 for "Balança". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Balança vs banana

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 “Balança” 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