calçãovscapãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,621
“calção” frequency rank
#19,358
“capão” frequency rank
48979
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calção capão
Definition calça curta galo (ou cavalo) castrado para que não se reproduza e brigue com outros machos

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
calção
5 ch
capão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. calção (/kaɫ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and capão (/kɐ.ˈpɐ̃w̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48979, 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/. capão is at rank #19,358, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈpɐ̃w̃/.

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 48979, this pair ranks #16,116 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of calção vs capão

Shared letters: acoã. Private to "calção": . Private to "capão": p.

"calção" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV  ·  "capão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

calção#29,621
capão#19,358

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calção" and "capão" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kaɫ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /kɐ.ˈpɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "calção" or "capão"?
"capão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,358 in our Portuguese list, against #29,621 for "calção". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering calção vs capão

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