cabravscarrãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,222
“cabra” frequency rank
#30,869
“carrão” frequency rank
42091
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cabra carrão
Definition quadrúpede mamífero e ruminante com numerosas raças selvagens andorinhão-real, (Tachymarptis melba)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cabra and carrão apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
cabra
6 ch
carrão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cabra (/ˈka.bɾɐ/) and carrão (singular: /ka.'raŋ/ ou /ka.'raw/) 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 42091, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cabra is recorded at frequency rank #11,222, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈka.bɾɐ/. carrão is at rank #30,869, tagged as anoun, pronounced singular: /ka.'raŋ/ ou /ka.'raw/.

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 42091, this pair ranks #23,734 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cabra vs carrão

Shared letters: acr. Private to "cabra": b. Private to "carrão": .

"cabra" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "carrão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cabraacbra · cabar · cabbra · cabrra · carba · cbara · ccabra

Frequency comparison

cabra#11,222
carrão#30,869

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cabra" and "carrão" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈka.bɾɐ/ versus singular: /ka.'raŋ/ ou /ka.'raw/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cabra" or "carrão"?
"cabra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,222 in our Portuguese list, against #30,869 for "carrão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cabra vs carrão

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 “cabra” 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