carátervscartelWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,223
“caráter” frequency rank
#9,150
“cartel” frequency rank
11373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caráter cartel
Definition cunho especial que distingue as coisas entre si: acordo comercial entre empresas para estabelecerem monopólio, distribuindo entre si os mercados e determinando os preços

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caráter and cartel apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
caráter
6 ch
cartel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. caráter (/kaˈra.tɛr/) and cartel (/kɐɾ.ˈtɛɫ/) 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 11373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caráter is recorded at frequency rank #2,223, classified as anoun, pronounced /kaˈra.tɛr/. cartel is at rank #9,150, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐɾ.ˈtɛɫ/.

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 11373, this pair ranks #61,488 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of caráter vs cartel

Shared letters: acert. Private to "caráter": á. Private to "cartel": l.

"caráter" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "cartel" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cartelacrtel · caretl · carrtel · cartell · cartle · carttel · catrel · ccartel

Frequency comparison

caráter#2,223
cartel#9,150

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caráter" and "cartel" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kaˈra.tɛr/ versus /kɐɾ.ˈtɛɫ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caráter" or "cartel"?
"caráter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,223 in our Portuguese list, against #9,150 for "cartel". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caráter vs cartel

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 “caráter” 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