caladavscalhaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,304
“calada” frequency rank
#30,453
“calha” frequency rank
39757
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calada calha
Definition ato ou efeito de calar-se amarelinha

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set calada and calha apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
calada
5 ch
calha

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. calada (/kɐ.ˈla.dɐ/) and calha (/ˈka.ʎɐ/) 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 39757, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

calada is recorded at frequency rank #9,304, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈla.dɐ/. calha is at rank #30,453, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈka.ʎɐ/.

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 39757, this pair ranks #26,441 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of calada vs calha

Shared letters: acl. Private to "calada": d. Private to "calha": h.

"calada" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "calha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caladaaclada · caalda · calaad · caladda · caldaa · callada · ccalada · claada
  • calhaaclha · cahla · calah · calhha · callha · ccalha · claha

Frequency comparison

calada#9,304
calha#30,453

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calada" and "calha" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kɐ.ˈla.dɐ/ versus /ˈka.ʎɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "calada" or "calha"?
"calada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,304 in our Portuguese list, against #30,453 for "calha". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering calada vs calha

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 “calada” 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