Which to use
“cadeia” and “cafeína” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,838
- “cadeia” frequency rank
- #19,354
- “cafeína” frequency rank
- 21192
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cadeia | cafeína |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | local que serve de detenção temporária para criminosos de baixa periculosidade | alcaloide do grupo das xantinas usado como estimulante, C₈H₁₀N₄O₂ |
Where the eye mixes cadeia and cafeína
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cadeia runs 6 letters (CVCVVV) against cafeína's 7 (CVCVVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: cadeia vs cafeína
A purely visual mix-up. cadeia (/kɐ.ˈdɐj.ɐ/) and cafeína ([kafeˈina], plural: [kafeˈinas]) 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 21192, 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/. cafeína is at rank #19,354, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kafeˈina], plural: [kafeˈinas].
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 21192, this pair ranks #49,147 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cadeia vs cafeína
Shared letters: ace. Private to "cadeia": di. Private to "cafeína": fní.
"cadeia" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVV · "cafeína" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- cadeia ← acdeia · caddeia · cadeai · cadiea · caedia · ccadeia · cdaeia
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cadeia" for "cafeína" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "cadeia" or "cafeína" show up more?
What to do next
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 "cafeína" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,147 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cadeia" and "cafeína" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cabina vs cafeína". 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 #49,147 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.