Which to use
“careta” and “cata” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,598
- “careta” frequency rank
- #31,681
- “cata” frequency rank
- 55279
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | careta | cata |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | não drogado ou alcoolizado; sóbrio | busca |
Where the eye mixes careta and cata
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. careta runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against cata's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses careta with cata
A purely visual mix-up. careta (/kɐ.ˈɾe.tɐ/) and cata (/ˈka.tɐ/) 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 55279, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
careta is recorded at frequency rank #23,598, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈɾe.tɐ/. cata is at rank #31,681, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈka.tɐ/.
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 55279, this pair ranks #10,693 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of careta vs cata
Shared letters: act. Private to "careta": er. Private to "cata": -.
"careta" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "cata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "careta" and "cata" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "careta" or "cata"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "careta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cata" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #10,693 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "careta" and "cata" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cata vs copta". 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 #10,693 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.