cadavscanjaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cada is a pronoun, canja is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cada” is a pronoun and “canja” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#144
“cada” frequency rank
#43,320
“canja” frequency rank
43464
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cada canja
Definition indica, individualizando, um elemento de um grupo ou conjunto: caldo de galinha com arroz

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
cada
5 ch
canja

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cada is /ˈkɐ.dɐ/ while canja is /ˈkɐ̃.ʒɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43464, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cada is recorded at frequency rank #144, classified as apron, pronounced /ˈkɐ.dɐ/. canja is at rank #43,320, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɐ̃.ʒɐ/.

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 43464, this pair ranks #22,175 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cada vs canja

Shared letters: ac. Private to "cada": d. Private to "canja": jn.

"cada" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "canja" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cadaacda · caad · cadda · ccada · cdaa
  • canjaacnja · cajna · canaj · canjja · cannja · ccanja · cnaja

Frequency comparison

cada#144
canja#43,320

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cada" and "canja" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cada" is a pronoun and "canja" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cada" or "canja"?
"cada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #144 in our Portuguese list, against #43,320 for "canja". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering cada vs canja

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “cada”; for a noun, it's “canja”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cada” 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