caráctervscaráterTell them apart

Which to use

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

#8,015
“carácter” frequency rank
#2,223
“caráter” frequency rank
10238
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature carácter caráter
Definition o mesmo que caráter cunho especial que distingue as coisas entre si:

Where the eye mixes carácter and caráter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. carácter runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against caráter's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
carácter
7 ch
caráter

Why the eye confuses carácter with caráter

A purely visual mix-up. carácter (/kaˈrak.tɛr/) and caráter (/kaˈra.tɛr/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10238, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

carácter is recorded at frequency rank #8,015, classified as anoun, pronounced /kaˈrak.tɛr/. caráter is at rank #2,223, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kaˈra.tɛr/.

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 10238, this pair ranks #62,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of carácter vs caráter

Shared letters: acertá. Private to "carácter": -. Private to "caráter": -.

"carácter" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC  ·  "caráter" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "carácter" for "caráter" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/kaˈrak.tɛr/ versus /kaˈra.tɛr/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "carácter" vs "caráter" - which ranks higher?
"caráter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,223 in our Portuguese list, against #8,015 for "carácter". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "carácter" and "caráter" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "carácter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "caráter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #62,932 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "carácter" and "caráter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "carácter vs character". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #62,932 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