capevschapéuWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,721
“cape” frequency rank
#6,513
“chapéu” frequency rank
24234
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cape chapéu
Definition cabo cobertura com copa e aba para a cabeça de homem

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
cape
6 ch
chapéu

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cape (/keɪp/, /keIp/) and chapéu (/ʃɐ.ˈpɛw/) 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 24234, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cape is recorded at frequency rank #17,721, classified as anoun, pronounced /keɪp/, /keIp/. chapéu is at rank #6,513, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ʃɐ.ˈpɛw/.

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 24234, this pair ranks #45,430 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of cape vs chapéu

Shared letters: acp. Private to "cape": e. Private to "chapéu": hué.

"cape" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "chapéu" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • capeacpe · caep · cappe · ccape · cpae

Frequency comparison

cape#17,721
chapéu#6,513

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cape" and "chapéu" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/keɪp/, /keIp/ versus /ʃɐ.ˈpɛw/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cape" or "chapéu"?
"chapéu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,513 in our Portuguese list, against #17,721 for "cape". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cape vs chapéu

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 “cape” 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