Which to use
“caraca” is an intj and “careca” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #38,169
- “caraca” frequency rank
- #10,848
- “careca” frequency rank
- 49017
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caraca | careca |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | expressa admiração, espanto; insatisfação, repreensão | falta de cabelo na cabeça; calvo |
Where the eye mixes caraca and careca
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses caraca with careca
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caraca is /ka.ˈɾa.kɐ/ while careca is /kɐ.ˈɾɛ.kɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “caraca” becomes e in “careca”, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caraca is recorded at frequency rank #38,169, classified as anintj, pronounced /ka.ˈɾa.kɐ/. careca is at rank #10,848, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kɐ.ˈɾɛ.kɐ/.
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 49017, this pair ranks #16,060 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of caraca vs careca
Shared letters: acr. Private to "caraca": -. Private to "careca": e.
"caraca" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "careca" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "caraca" and "careca" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "caraca" vs "careca" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "caraca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "careca" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #16,060 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caraca" and "careca" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caraca vs carapaça". 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 #16,060 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.