calçãovscalhauWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,621
“calção” frequency rank
#41,869
“calhau” frequency rank
71490
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calção calhau
Definition calça curta fragmento de rocha dura; pedra solta; seixo; rebo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set calção and calhau apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
calção
6 ch
calhau

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. calção (/kaɫ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and calhau (/kɐ.ˈʎaw/) 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 71490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

calção is recorded at frequency rank #29,621, classified as anoun, pronounced /kaɫ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. calhau is at rank #41,869, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈʎaw/.

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 71490, this pair ranks #3,325 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of calção vs calhau

Shared letters: acl. Private to "calção": oãç. Private to "calhau": hu.

"calção" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "calhau" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • calhauaclhau · cahlau · calahu · calhhau · calhua · callhau · ccalhau · clahau

Frequency comparison

calção#29,621
calhau#41,869

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calção" and "calhau" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kaɫ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /kɐ.ˈʎaw/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "calção" or "calhau"?
"calção" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,621 in our Portuguese list, against #41,869 for "calhau". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering calção vs calhau

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 “calção” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list