capoeiravscarreiraTell them apart

Which to use

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

#15,523
“capoeira” frequency rank
#1,137
“carreira” frequency rank
16660
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature capoeira carreira
Definition luta esportiva desenvolvida no Brasil, originariamente praticada pelos negros escravos nas senzalas da Bahia, Pernambuco e Rio de Janeiro caminho estreito

Where the eye mixes capoeira and carreira

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. capoeira (CVCVVVCV) and carreira (CVCCVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
capoeira
8 ch
carreira

Visual trap between capoeira and carreira

A purely visual mix-up. capoeira (/kɐ.ˈpwɐj.ɾɐ/) and carreira (/kɐ.ˈRɐj.ɾɐ/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16660, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

capoeira is recorded at frequency rank #15,523, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈpwɐj.ɾɐ/. carreira is at rank #1,137, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈRɐj.ɾɐ/.

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 16660, this pair ranks #54,813 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of capoeira vs carreira

Shared letters: aceir. Private to "capoeira": op. Private to "carreira": -.

"capoeira" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVVCV  ·  "carreira" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • capoeira ← acpoeira · caopeira · capeoira · capoeiar · capoeirra · capoeria · capoiera · cappoeira
  • carreira ← acrreira · careira · carerira · carreiar · carreirra · carreria · carriera · ccarreira

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "capoeira" and "carreira" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kɐ.ˈpwɐj.ɾɐ/ versus /kɐ.ˈRɐj.ɾɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "capoeira" vs "carreira" - which ranks higher?
"carreira" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,137 in our Portuguese list, against #15,523 for "capoeira". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "capoeira" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "carreira" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #54,813 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "capoeira" and "carreira" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "carreira vs carrera". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #54,813 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list