caravscháWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cara is a preposition, chá is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cara” is a preposition and “chá” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#195
“cara” frequency rank
#2,711
“chá” frequency rank
2906
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cara chá
Definition em direção a, para, contra planta da família das Teáceas, originária do Extremo Oriente, cultivada por causa de suas folhas que contêm um alcalóide, a teína (cafeína do chá)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cara and chá apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
cara
3 ch
chá

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

cara and chá form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cara is recorded at frequency rank #195, classified as aprep. chá is at rank #2,711, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈʃa/.

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 2906, this pair ranks #72,323 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

cara#195
chá#2,711

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cara" and "chá" be used interchangeably?
No, "cara" and "chá" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering cara vs chá

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a preposition, it's “cara”; for a noun, it's “chá”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cara” 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