cálicevscalvícieConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#17,252
“cálice” frequency rank
#46,715
“calvície” frequency rank
63967
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cálice calvície
Definition pequeno copo com pé, para licores ou bebidas fortes estado do que é calvo.

Where the eye mixes cálice and calvície

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
cálice
8 ch
calvície

Look-alike desk: cálice vs calvície

A purely visual mix-up. cálice (/ˈka.li.sɨ/) and calvície (/kaɫ.ˈvi.sji/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63967, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cálice is recorded at frequency rank #17,252, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈka.li.sɨ/. calvície is at rank #46,715, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kaɫ.ˈvi.sji/.

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 63967, this pair ranks #5,976 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cálice vs calvície

Shared letters: ceil. Private to "cálice": á. Private to "calvície": aví.

"cálice" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "calvície" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "cálice" and "calvície" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈka.li.sɨ/ versus /kaɫ.ˈvi.sji/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "cálice" or "calvície" show up more?
"cálice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,252 in our Portuguese list, against #46,715 for "calvície". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cálice" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "calvície" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #5,976 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cálice" and "calvície" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cálice vs coice". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #5,976 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list