caladavscaracaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: calada is a noun, caraca is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“calada” is a noun and “caraca” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#9,304
“calada” frequency rank
#38,169
“caraca” frequency rank
47473
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calada caraca
Definition ato ou efeito de calar-se expressa admiração, espanto; insatisfação, repreensão

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
calada
6 ch
caraca

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: calada is /kɐ.ˈla.dɐ/ while caraca is /ka.ˈɾa.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 intj), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47473, 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/. caraca is at rank #38,169, tagged as anintj, pronounced /ka.ˈɾa.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 47473, this pair ranks #17,769 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of calada vs caraca

Shared letters: ac. Private to "calada": dl. Private to "caraca": r.

"calada" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "caraca" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caladaaclada · caalda · calaad · caladda · caldaa · callada · ccalada · claada
  • caracaacraca · caarca · caraac · caracca · carcaa · carraca · ccaraca · craaca

Frequency comparison

calada#9,304
caraca#38,169

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calada" and "caraca" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "calada" is a noun and "caraca" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "calada" or "caraca"?
"calada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,304 in our Portuguese list, against #38,169 for "caraca". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering calada vs caraca

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “calada”; for an intj, it's “caraca”.
  • 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