Which to use
“cadeia” is a noun and “careca” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,838
- “cadeia” frequency rank
- #10,848
- “careca” frequency rank
- 12686
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cadeia | careca |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | local que serve de detenção temporária para criminosos de baixa periculosidade | falta de cabelo na cabeça; calvo |
Where the eye mixes cadeia and careca
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cadeia (CVCVVV) and careca (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 careca
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cadeia is /kɐ.ˈdɐj.ɐ/ while careca is /kɐ.ˈɾɛ.kɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12686, 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/. careca is at rank #10,848, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kɐ.ˈɾɛ.kɐ/.
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 12686, this pair ranks #59,824 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cadeia vs careca
Shared letters: ace. Private to "cadeia": di. Private to "careca": r.
"cadeia" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVV · "careca" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cadeia" and "careca" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "cadeia" vs "careca" - which ranks higher?
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 "careca" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #59,824 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cadeia" and "careca" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "careca vs carrera". 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 #59,824 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.