Which to use
“câncer” and “cárcere” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,607
- “câncer” frequency rank
- #19,673
- “cárcere” frequency rank
- 21280
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | câncer | cárcere |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | doença caracterizada por rápida multiplicação celular irrefreada de uma célula que teve seu ADN danosamente modificado | cadeia, prisão |
Where the eye mixes câncer and cárcere
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. câncer runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against cárcere's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: câncer vs cárcere
A purely visual mix-up. câncer (/ˈkɐ̃.sɛɾ/) and cárcere (/ˈkaɾ.sɨ.ɾɨ/) 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 21280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
câncer is recorded at frequency rank #1,607, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɐ̃.sɛɾ/. cárcere is at rank #19,673, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkaɾ.sɨ.ɾɨ/.
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 21280, this pair ranks #49,026 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of câncer vs cárcere
Shared letters: cer. Private to "câncer": nâ. Private to "cárcere": á.
"câncer" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "cárcere" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "câncer" and "cárcere" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "câncer" or "cárcere"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "câncer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cárcere" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,026 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "câncer" and "cárcere" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cárcere vs carrera". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #49,026 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.