Which to use
“cadeia” and “cadela” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,838
- “cadeia” frequency rank
- #10,142
- “cadela” frequency rank
- 11980
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cadeia | cadela |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | local que serve de detenção temporária para criminosos de baixa periculosidade | animal fêmea da espécie Canis lupus familiaris, cujo macho é o cão |
Where the eye mixes cadeia and cadela
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cadeia (CVCVVV) and cadela (CVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses cadeia with cadela
A purely visual mix-up. cadeia (/kɐ.ˈdɐj.ɐ/) and cadela (/kɐ.ˈdɛ.lɐ/) 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 a single letter - i in “cadeia” becomes l in “cadela”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11980, 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/. cadela is at rank #10,142, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈdɛ.lɐ/.
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 11980, this pair ranks #60,732 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cadeia vs cadela
Shared letters: acde. Private to "cadeia": i. Private to "cadela": l.
"cadeia" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVV · "cadela" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cadeia" for "cadela" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cadeia" or "cadela"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cadeia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cadela" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,732 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cadeia" and "cadela" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cadela 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 #60,732 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.