Which to use
“calão” and “capaz” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,032
- “calão” frequency rank
- #1,041
- “capaz” frequency rank
- 40073
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | calão | capaz |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que não trabalha tanto quanto deveria | que tem o conhecimento ou habilidade para fazer algo |
Where the eye mixes calão and capaz
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. calão (CVCVV) and capaz (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between calão and capaz
A purely visual mix-up. calão (/kɐ.ˈlɐ̃w̃/) and capaz (/kɐ.ˈpaʃ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40073, 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/. capaz is at rank #1,041, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kɐ.ˈpaʃ/.
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 40073, this pair ranks #26,085 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of calão vs capaz
Shared letters: ac. Private to "calão": loã. Private to "capaz": pz.
"calão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "capaz" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- capaz ← acpaz · caapz · capazz · cappaz · capza · ccapaz · cpaaz
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "calão" and "capaz" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "calão" or "capaz"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "calão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "capaz" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #26,085 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "calão" and "capaz" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calão vs ciao". 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 #26,085 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.