Which to use
“capão” and “capitão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,358
- “capão” frequency rank
- #1,768
- “capitão” frequency rank
- 21126
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | capão | capitão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | galo (ou cavalo) castrado para que não se reproduza e brigue com outros machos | chefe militar |
Where the eye mixes capão and capitão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. capão runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against capitão's 7 (CVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: capão vs capitão
A purely visual mix-up. capão (/kɐ.ˈpɐ̃w̃/) and capitão (/kɐ.pi.ˈtɐ̃w̃/) 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 21126, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
capão is recorded at frequency rank #19,358, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈpɐ̃w̃/. capitão is at rank #1,768, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.pi.ˈtɐ̃w̃/.
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 21126, this pair ranks #49,227 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of capão vs capitão
Shared letters: acopã. Private to "capão": -. Private to "capitão": it.
"capão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "capitão" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "capão" and "capitão" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "capão" or "capitão" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "capão" and "capitão" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "capão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "capitão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #49,227 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "capão" and "capitão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "capão vs ciao". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #49,227 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.