Which to use
“cabeçada” and “cabeção” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,172
- “cabeçada” frequency rank
- #34,173
- “cabeção” frequency rank
- 68345
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cabeçada | cabeção |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pancada com a cabeça | testarudo, teimoso |
Where the eye mixes cabeçada and cabeção
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cabeçada runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCV) against cabeção's 7 (CVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between cabeçada and cabeção
A purely visual mix-up. cabeçada (/kɐ.bɨ.ˈsa.dɐ/) and cabeção (/ka.be.'saŋ/, /ka.be.'θaŋ/) 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 68345, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cabeçada is recorded at frequency rank #34,172, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.bɨ.ˈsa.dɐ/. cabeção is at rank #34,173, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ka.be.'saŋ/, /ka.be.'θaŋ/.
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 68345, this pair ranks #4,305 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cabeçada vs cabeção
Shared letters: abceç. Private to "cabeçada": d. Private to "cabeção": oã.
"cabeçada" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "cabeção" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cabeçada" and "cabeção" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "cabeçada" vs "cabeção" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cabeçada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cabeção" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,305 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cabeçada" and "cabeção" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cabeção vs caução". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #4,305 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.