caçarvscalçarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#7,115
“caçar” frequency rank
#37,677
“calçar” frequency rank
44792
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caçar calçar
Definition perseguir uma presa e, usualmente, matá-la transitivo

Where the eye mixes caçar and calçar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. caçar runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against calçar's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
caçar
6 ch
calçar

Visual trap between caçar and calçar

A purely visual mix-up. caçar (/kɐ.ˈsaɾ/) and calçar (/kaɫ.ˈsaɾ/) 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 44792, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caçar is recorded at frequency rank #7,115, classified as averb, pronounced /kɐ.ˈsaɾ/. calçar is at rank #37,677, tagged as averb, pronounced /kaɫ.ˈsaɾ/.

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 44792, this pair ranks #20,640 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caçar vs calçar

Shared letters: acrç. Private to "caçar": -. Private to "calçar": l.

"caçar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "calçar" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "caçar" for "calçar" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/kɐ.ˈsaɾ/ versus /kaɫ.ˈsaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "caçar" vs "calçar" - which ranks higher?
"caçar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,115 in our Portuguese list, against #37,677 for "calçar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "caçar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "calçar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #20,640 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "caçar" and "calçar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calçar vs caução". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #20,640 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