Which to use
“cadeia” and “cadeira” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,838
- “cadeia” frequency rank
- #2,820
- “cadeira” frequency rank
- 4658
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cadeia | cadeira |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | local que serve de detenção temporária para criminosos de baixa periculosidade | objeto do mobiliário sobre o qual se assenta, normalmente composta por quatro pés, um assento e um encosto |
Where the eye mixes cadeia and cadeira
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cadeia with cadeira
A purely visual mix-up. cadeia (/kɐ.ˈdɐj.ɐ/) and cadeira (/kɐ.ˈdɐj.ɾɐ/) 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 4658, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cadeia is recorded at frequency rank #1,838, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈdɐj.ɐ/. cadeira is at rank #2,820, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈdɐj.ɾɐ/.
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 4658, this pair ranks #70,169 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cadeia vs cadeira
Shared letters: acdei. Private to "cadeia": -. Private to "cadeira": r.
"cadeia" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVV · "cadeira" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cadeia" and "cadeira" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "cadeia" or "cadeira" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cadeia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cadeira" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,169 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cadeia" and "cadeira" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cadeia vs capeta". 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 #70,169 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.