Which to use
“capão” and “carrão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,358
- “capão” frequency rank
- #30,869
- “carrão” frequency rank
- 50227
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | capão | carrão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | galo (ou cavalo) castrado para que não se reproduza e brigue com outros machos | andorinhão-real, (Tachymarptis melba) |
Where the eye mixes capão and carrão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. capão runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against carrão's 6 (CVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses capão with carrão
A purely visual mix-up. capão (/kɐ.ˈpɐ̃w̃/) and carrão (singular: /ka.'raŋ/ ou /ka.'raw/) 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 50227, 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/. carrão is at rank #30,869, tagged as anoun, pronounced singular: /ka.'raŋ/ ou /ka.'raw/.
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 50227, this pair ranks #14,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of capão vs carrão
Shared letters: acoã. Private to "capão": p. Private to "carrão": r.
"capão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "carrão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "capão" for "carrão" ever safe?
Frequency check: "capão" vs "carrão" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "capão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "carrão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #14,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "capão" and "carrão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "carrão vs caução". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #14,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.