Which to use
“cabeção” and “cabrão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,173
- “cabeção” frequency rank
- #38,163
- “cabrão” frequency rank
- 72336
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cabeção | cabrão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | testarudo, teimoso | o macho da cabra; bode |
Where the eye mixes cabeção and cabrão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cabeção runs 7 letters (CVCVCVV) against cabrão's 6 (CVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: cabeção vs cabrão
A purely visual mix-up. cabeção (/ka.be.'saŋ/, /ka.be.'θaŋ/) and cabrão (/kɐ.ˈbɾɐ̃w̃/) 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 72336, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cabeção is recorded at frequency rank #34,173, classified as anoun, pronounced /ka.be.'saŋ/, /ka.be.'θaŋ/. cabrão is at rank #38,163, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈbɾɐ̃w̃/.
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 72336, this pair ranks #3,084 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cabeção vs cabrão
Shared letters: abcoã. Private to "cabeção": eç. Private to "cabrão": r.
"cabeção" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "cabrão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cabeção" for "cabrão" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "cabeção" or "cabrão" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cabeção" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cabrão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #3,084 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cabeção" and "cabrão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cabrão vs caução". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #3,084 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.