caldovscalmWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: caldo is a noun, calm is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#13,677
“caldo” frequency rank
#34,176
“calm” frequency rank
47853
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caldo calm
Definition alimento líquido que se prepara cozendo em água substâncias alimentícias calmo

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
caldo
4 ch
calm

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caldo is /ˈkaɫ.du/ while calm is /kɑːm/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47853, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caldo is recorded at frequency rank #13,677, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkaɫ.du/. calm is at rank #34,176, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kɑːm/.

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 47853, this pair ranks #17,356 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of caldo vs calm

Shared letters: acl. Private to "caldo": do. Private to "calm": m.

"caldo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "calm" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caldoacldo · cadlo · calddo · calldo · calod · ccaldo · clado
  • calmaclm · callm · calmm · caml · ccalm · clam

Frequency comparison

caldo#13,677
calm#34,176

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caldo" and "calm" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caldo" is a noun and "calm" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "caldo" or "calm"?
"caldo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,677 in our Portuguese list, against #34,176 for "calm". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caldo vs calm

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “caldo”; for an adjective, it's “calm”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “caldo” 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