Which to use
“baú” and “boa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,895
- “baú” frequency rank
- #165
- “boa” frequency rank
- 14060
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | baú | boa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | caixa retangular com tampa convexa e geralmente revestida de couro cru | jiboia |
Where the eye mixes baú and boa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: baú vs boa
A purely visual mix-up. baú (/ba.ˈu/) and boa (/ˈbo.ɐ/) 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 14060, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
baú is recorded at frequency rank #13,895, classified as anoun, pronounced /ba.ˈu/. boa is at rank #165, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈbo.ɐ/.
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 14060, this pair ranks #58,126 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of baú vs boa
Shared letters: ab. Private to "baú": ú. Private to "boa": o.
"baú" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "boa" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "baú" and "boa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "baú" or "boa" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "baú" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "boa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #58,126 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "baú" and "boa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baú vs bué". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #58,126 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.