cargavscarvãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,309
“carga” frequency rank
#5,283
“carvão” frequency rank
7592
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature carga carvão
Definition o que pode ser ou é transportado por pessoas, animais ou veículos substância de coloração negra e de firme consistência, amplamente utilizada como combustível

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set carga and carvão apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
carga
6 ch
carvão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. carga (/ˈkaɾ.ɡɐ/) and carvão (/kɐɾ.ˈvɐ̃w̃/) 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 7592, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

carga is recorded at frequency rank #2,309, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkaɾ.ɡɐ/. carvão is at rank #5,283, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐɾ.ˈvɐ̃w̃/.

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 7592, this pair ranks #66,527 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of carga vs carvão

Shared letters: acr. Private to "carga": g. Private to "carvão": ovã.

"carga" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "carvão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cargaacrga · cagra · carag · cargga · carrga · ccarga · craga

Frequency comparison

carga#2,309
carvão#5,283

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "carga" and "carvão" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈkaɾ.ɡɐ/ versus /kɐɾ.ˈvɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "carga" or "carvão"?
"carga" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,309 in our Portuguese list, against #5,283 for "carvão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering carga vs carvão

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 “carga” 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