bolavsboladaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,235
“bola” frequency rank
#39,018
“bolada” frequency rank
40253
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bola bolada
Definition sólido esférico qualquer (ver esfera) pancada com bola

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
bola
6 ch
bolada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

bola and bolada 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 extra letter(s) - “bola” sits inside “bolada”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40253, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bola is recorded at frequency rank #1,235, classified as anoun. bolada is at rank #39,018, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bu.ˈla.dɐ/.

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 40253, this pair ranks #25,902 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bola vs bolada

Shared letters: ablo. Private to "bola": -. Private to "bolada": d.

"bola" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "bolada" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bolabbola · bloa · boal · bolla · obla
  • boladabbolada · bloada · boalda · bolaad · boladda · boldaa · bollada · oblada

Frequency comparison

bola#1,235
bolada#39,018

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bola" and "bolada" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “bola” sits inside “bolada”, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "bola" or "bolada"?
"bola" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,235 in our Portuguese list, against #39,018 for "bolada". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering bola vs bolada

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 “bola” 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