caixavscalmaWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“caixa” and “calma” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,208
“caixa” frequency rank
#1,600
“calma” frequency rank
2808
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caixa calma
Definition expressa que se consegue o objetivo, a meta expressa incitamento a apaziguação em uma situação tensa

Where the eye mixes caixa and calma

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
caixa
5 ch
calma

Why the eye confuses caixa with calma

A purely visual mix-up. caixa (/'ka.ʃɐ/, /'kaj.ʃɐ/) and calma (/ˈkaɫ.mɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2808, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caixa is recorded at frequency rank #1,208, classified as anintj, pronounced /'ka.ʃɐ/, /'kaj.ʃɐ/. calma is at rank #1,600, tagged as anintj, pronounced /ˈkaɫ.mɐ/.

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 2808, this pair ranks #72,453 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of caixa vs calma

Shared letters: ac. Private to "caixa": ix. Private to "calma": lm.

"caixa" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "calma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caixaacixa · caiax · caixxa · caxia · ccaixa · ciaxa
  • calmaaclma · calam · callma · calmma · camla · ccalma · clama

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "caixa" for "calma" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/'ka.ʃɐ/, /'kaj.ʃɐ/ versus /ˈkaɫ.mɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "caixa" or "calma" show up more?
"caixa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,208 in our Portuguese list, against #1,600 for "calma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "caixa" and "calma" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "caixa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "calma" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #72,453 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "caixa" and "calma" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cabina vs caixa". 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 #72,453 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list