calãovscapelãoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#39,032
“calão” frequency rank
#25,222
“capelão” frequency rank
64254
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calão capelão
Definition que não trabalha tanto quanto deveria padre encarregado de rezar missas em capelas e prestar assistência espiritual a regimentos militares, escolas, hospitais, etc

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set calão and capelão apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
calão
7 ch
capelão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: calão is /kɐ.ˈlɐ̃w̃/ while capelão is /kɐ.pɨ.ˈlɐ̃w̃/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64254, 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/. capelão is at rank #25,222, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.pɨ.ˈlɐ̃w̃/.

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 64254, this pair ranks #5,855 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of calão vs capelão

Shared letters: acloã. Private to "calão": -. Private to "capelão": ep.

"calão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "capelão" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

calão#39,032
capelão#25,222

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calão" and "capelão" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "calão" is an adjective and "capelão" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "calão" or "capelão"?
"capelão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,222 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 capelão

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 “capelão”.
  • 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