calãovscaldoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: calão is a adjective, caldo is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“calão” is an adjective and “caldo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,032
“calão” frequency rank
#13,677
“caldo” frequency rank
52709
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calão caldo
Definition que não trabalha tanto quanto deveria alimento líquido que se prepara cozendo em água substâncias alimentícias

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
calão
5 ch
caldo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: calão is /kɐ.ˈlɐ̃w̃/ while caldo is /ˈkaɫ.du/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - ã in “calão” becomes d in “caldo”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52709, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

calão is recorded at frequency rank #39,032, classified as anadj, pronounced /kɐ.ˈlɐ̃w̃/. caldo is at rank #13,677, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkaɫ.du/.

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 52709, this pair ranks #12,562 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of calão vs caldo

Shared letters: aclo. Private to "calão": ã. Private to "caldo": d.

"calão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "caldo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caldoacldo · cadlo · calddo · calldo · calod · ccaldo · clado

Frequency comparison

calão#39,032
caldo#13,677

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calão" and "caldo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "calão" is an adjective and "caldo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "calão" or "caldo"?
"caldo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,677 in our Portuguese list, against #39,032 for "calão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering calão vs caldo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “calão”; for a noun, it's “caldo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “calão” 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