cadêvscidadeConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#3,377
“cadê” frequency rank
#124
“cidade” frequency rank
3501
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cadê cidade
Definition expressão interrogativa usada para perguntar onde algo ou alguém está aglomeração humana localizada numa área geográfica circunscrita e que tem numerosas casas, próximas entre si, destinadas à moradia e/ou a atividades culturais, mercantis, industriais, financeiras e a outras não relacionadas com a exploração direta do solo; urbe

Letter map: cadê vs cidade

Shared letters muted; letters that set cadê and cidade apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

4 ch
cadê
6 ch
cidade

Role in the sentence - cadê and cidade

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: cadê is apronoun and cidadeanoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3501, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cadê is recorded at frequency rank #3,377, classified as apron. cidade is at rank #124, tagged as anoun, pronounced /si.ˈda.dɨ/.

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 3501, this pair ranks #71,643 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cadê vs cidade

Shared letters: acd. Private to "cadê": ê. Private to "cidade": ei.

"cadê" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "cidade" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cidadeccidade · cdiade · ciadde · cidadde · cidaed · ciddade · ciddae · icdade

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cadê" for "cidade" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "cadê" is a pronoun and "cidade" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "cadê" or "cidade"?
"cidade" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #124 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.

After this comparison

Pair "cadê" vs "cidade" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cadê" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cidade" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #71,643 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cadê" and "cidade" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cadê vs codex". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #71,643 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