Which to use
“boneca” and “boneco” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,502
- “boneca” frequency rank
- #9,299
- “boneco” frequency rank
- 16801
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | boneca | boneco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | figura de qualquer material que imita senhora ou menina utilizada como adorno ou brinquedo | figura humana constituída de pano, madeira, plástico, porcelana entre outros materiais, é dedicado a crianças |
Where the eye mixes boneca and boneco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: boneca vs boneco
A purely visual mix-up. boneca (/bu.ˈnɛ.kɐ/) and boneco (/bu.ˈnɛ.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 a single letter - a in “boneca” becomes o in “boneco”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
boneca is recorded at frequency rank #7,502, classified as anoun, pronounced /bu.ˈnɛ.kɐ/. boneco is at rank #9,299, tagged as anoun, pronounced /bu.ˈnɛ.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 16801, this pair ranks #54,642 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of boneca vs boneco
Shared letters: bceno. Private to "boneca": a. Private to "boneco": -.
"boneca" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "boneco" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "boneca" and "boneco" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "boneca" or "boneco"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "boneca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "boneco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #54,642 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "boneca" and "boneco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bodega vs boneca". 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 #54,642 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.