capãovschapadoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: capão is a noun, chapado is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“capão” is a noun and “chapado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#19,358
“capão” frequency rank
#20,813
“chapado” frequency rank
40171
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature capão chapado
Definition galo (ou cavalo) castrado para que não se reproduza e brigue com outros machos guarnecido com chapa; chapeado

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
capão
7 ch
chapado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: capão is /kɐ.ˈpɐ̃w̃/ while chapado is /ʃɐ.ˈpa.du/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40171, 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/. chapado is at rank #20,813, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ʃɐ.ˈpa.du/.

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 40171, this pair ranks #25,989 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of capão vs chapado

Shared letters: acop. Private to "capão": ã. Private to "chapado": dh.

"capão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "chapado" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chapadocahpado · cchapado · chaapdo · chapaddo · chapaod · chapdao · chappado · chhapado

Frequency comparison

capão#19,358
chapado#20,813

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "capão" and "chapado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "capão" is a noun and "chapado" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "capão" or "chapado"?
"capão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,358 in our Portuguese list, against #20,813 for "chapado". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering capão vs chapado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “capão”; for an adjective, it's “chapado”.
  • 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