carátervscharacterWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,223
“caráter” frequency rank
#33,325
“character” frequency rank
35548
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caráter character
Definition cunho especial que distingue as coisas entre si: caractere

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caráter and character apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
caráter
9 ch
character

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. caráter (/kaˈra.tɛr/) and character (/ˈkʰæɹəktɚ/, /ˈkʰɛɹəktɚ/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35548, 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/. character is at rank #33,325, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkʰæɹəktɚ/, /ˈkʰɛɹəktɚ/.

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 35548, this pair ranks #31,497 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caráter vs character

Shared letters: acert. Private to "caráter": á. Private to "character": h.

"caráter" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "character" · 9 letters · shape CCVCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • charactercahracter · ccharacter · chaarcter · characcter · characetr · characterr · charactre · charactter

Frequency comparison

caráter#2,223
character#33,325

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caráter" and "character" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kaˈra.tɛr/ versus /ˈkʰæɹəktɚ/, /ˈkʰɛɹəktɚ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caráter" or "character"?
"caráter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,223 in our Portuguese list, against #33,325 for "character". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering caráter vs character

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list