Which to use
“calção” and “cancro” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,621
- “calção” frequency rank
- #9,147
- “cancro” frequency rank
- 38768
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | calção | cancro |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | calça curta | tumor maligno |
Where the eye mixes calção and cancro
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. calção (CVCCVV) and cancro (CVCCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between calção and cancro
A purely visual mix-up. calção (/kaɫ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and cancro (/ˈkɜ̃kru/) 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 38768, 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/. cancro is at rank #9,147, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɜ̃kru/.
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 38768, this pair ranks #27,616 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of calção vs cancro
Shared letters: aco. Private to "calção": lãç. Private to "cancro": nr.
"calção" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "cancro" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- cancro ← acncro · cacnro · canccro · cancor · cancrro · canncro · canrco · ccancro
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "calção" for "cancro" ever safe?
Frequency check: "calção" vs "cancro" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "calção" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cancro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,616 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "calção" and "cancro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "calção vs caução". 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 #27,616 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.