cadeiavscadelaWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cadeia and cadela apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
cadeia
6 ch
cadela

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • cadeiaacdeia · caddeia · cadeai · cadiea · caedia · ccadeia · cdaeia
  • cadelaacdela · caddela · cadeal · cadella · cadlea · caedla · ccadela · cdaela

Frequency comparison

cadeia#1,838
cadela#10,142

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cadeia" and "cadela" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kɐ.ˈdɐj.ɐ/ versus /kɐ.ˈdɛ.lɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cadeia" or "cadela"?
"cadeia" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,838 in our Portuguese list, against #10,142 for "cadela". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cadeia vs cadela

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cadeia” 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