balançovsbarrancoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,987
“balanço” frequency rank
#30,846
“barranco” frequency rank
37833
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature balanço barranco
Definition movimento oscilatório quebra de continuidade abrupta em um terreno criando uma margem bastante inclinada ao lado de cursos d'água e estradas

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
balanço
8 ch
barranco

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. balanço (/bɐ.ˈlɐ̃.su/) and barranco (/baˈʁɐ̃.ku/ [baˈhɐ̃.ku]) 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 37833, 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/. barranco is at rank #30,846, tagged as anoun, pronounced /baˈʁɐ̃.ku/ [baˈhɐ̃.ku].

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 37833, this pair ranks #28,730 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of balanço vs barranco

Shared letters: abno. Private to "balanço": . Private to "barranco": cr.

"balanço" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV  ·  "barranco" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • barrancoabrranco · baranco · bararnco · barracno · barrancco · barrannco · barranoc · barrnaco

Frequency comparison

balanço#6,987
barranco#30,846

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "balanço" and "barranco" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/bɐ.ˈlɐ̃.su/ versus /baˈʁɐ̃.ku/ [baˈhɐ̃.ku]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "balanço" or "barranco"?
"balanço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,987 in our Portuguese list, against #30,846 for "barranco". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering balanço vs barranco

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