capãovscaspaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#19,358
“capão” frequency rank
#42,827
“caspa” frequency rank
62185
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature capão caspa
Definition galo (ou cavalo) castrado para que não se reproduza e brigue com outros machos doença cutânea caracterizada pela escamação excessiva de pele morta no couro cabeludo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set capão and caspa apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
capão
5 ch
caspa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. capão (/kɐ.ˈpɐ̃w̃/) and caspa (/ˈkas.pɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62185, 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/. caspa is at rank #42,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkas.pɐ/.

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 62185, this pair ranks #6,787 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of capão vs caspa

Shared letters: acp. Private to "capão": . Private to "caspa": s.

"capão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "caspa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caspaacspa · capsa · casap · casppa · casspa · ccaspa · csapa

Frequency comparison

capão#19,358
caspa#42,827

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "capão" and "caspa" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kɐ.ˈpɐ̃w̃/ versus /ˈkas.pɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "capão" or "caspa"?
"capão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,358 in our Portuguese list, against #42,827 for "caspa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering capão vs caspa

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list