balançovsbalãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,987
“balanço” frequency rank
#7,601
“balão” frequency rank
14588
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature balanço balão
Definition movimento oscilatório recipiente de forma oval que, cheio de um fluido mais leve que o ar, flutua sem auxílio de um sistema de propulsão

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
balanço
5 ch
balão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

balanço and balão are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14588, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

balanço is recorded at frequency rank #6,987, classified as anoun, pronounced /bɐ.ˈlɐ̃.su/. balão is at rank #7,601, tagged as anoun.

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 14588, this pair ranks #57,453 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of balanço vs balão

Shared letters: ablo. Private to "balanço": . Private to "balão": ã.

"balanço" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "balão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

balanço#6,987
balão#7,601

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "balanço" and "balão" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "balanço" or "balão"?
"balanço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,987 in our Portuguese list, against #7,601 for "balão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering balanço vs balão

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 “balanço” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list