bolovsboxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,560
“bolo” frequency rank
#6,381
“box” frequency rank
8941
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bolo box
Definition massa de farinha e outros ingredientes, geralmente doce, cozida no forno ou frita cada espaço subdividido por parede ou extrutura similar e que é destinado ao uso comercial dentro de uma construção maior

Letter map: bolo vs box

Shared letters muted; letters that set bolo and box apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
bolo
3 ch
box

Pair insight - bolo / box

bolo and box 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bolo is recorded at frequency rank #2,560, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈbo.lu/. box is at rank #6,381, 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 8941, this pair ranks #64,654 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bolo vs box

Shared letters: bo. Private to "bolo": l. Private to "box": x.

"bolo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "box" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • bolobbolo · bloo · bollo · bool · oblo

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "bolo" for "box" ever safe?
No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "bolo" vs "box" - which ranks higher?
"bolo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,560 in our Portuguese list, against #6,381 for "box". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "bolo" and "box".

  • Full dictionary entry for "bolo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "box" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #64,654 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bolo" and "box" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "box vs bué". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #64,654 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list