cálice vs cárie, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#17,252
“cálice” frequency rank: #40,971
“cárie” frequency rank: 58223
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	cálice	cárie
Definition	pequeno copo com pé, para licores ou bebidas fortes	ulceração nos dentes e ossos, que os destrói progressivamente

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch

cálice

5 ch

cárie

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cálice (/ˈka.li.sɨ/) and cárie (/ˈka.ɾji/) 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 58223, 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/. cárie is at rank #40,971, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈka.ɾji/.

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 58223, this pair ranks #8,873 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cálice vs cárie

Shared letters: ceiá. Private to "cálice": l. Private to "cárie": r.

"cálice" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "cárie" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Frequency comparison

cálice#17,252

cárie#40,971

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cálice" and "cárie" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈka.li.sɨ/ versus /ˈka.ɾji/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "cálice" or "cárie"?

"cálice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,252 in our Portuguese list, against #40,971 for "cárie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cálice vs cárie

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 “cálice” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable