cadê vs caso, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“cadê” is a pronoun and “caso” is a conjunction - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,377
“cadê” frequency rank: #181
“caso” frequency rank: 3558
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	cadê	caso
Definition	expressão interrogativa usada para perguntar onde algo ou alguém está	na hipótese de; se

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cadê and caso apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

cadê

4 ch

caso

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: cadê is apronoun and casoaconjunction. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3558, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cadê is recorded at frequency rank #3,377, classified as apron. caso is at rank #181, tagged as aconj, pronounced /ˈka.zu/.

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 3558, this pair ranks #71,566 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cadê vs caso

Shared letters: ac. Private to "cadê": dê. Private to "caso": os.

"cadê" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "caso" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

caso ← acso · casso · ccaso · csao

Frequency comparison

cadê#3,377

caso#181

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cadê" and "caso" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cadê" is a pronoun and "caso" a conjunction, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "cadê" or "caso"?

"caso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #181 in our Portuguese list, against #3,377 for "cadê". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering cadê vs caso

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “cadê”; for a conjunction, it's “caso”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cadê” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable