caricaturavscriaturaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,898
“caricatura” frequency rank
#5,400
“criatura” frequency rank
28298
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caricatura criatura
Definition desenho de uma pessoa, de um animal, de uma coisa ou de um fato, que exagera alguns aspectos com intenção cômica ou crítica um animal, especialmente não humano

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caricatura and criatura apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
caricatura
8 ch
criatura

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. caricatura (/kɐ.ɾi.kɐ.ˈtu.ɾɐ/) and criatura (/kɾi.aˈtu.ɾɐ/ [kɾɪ.aˈtu.ɾɐ], AFI: /kɾjaˈtu.ɾɐ/ (coloquial)) 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 28298, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caricatura is recorded at frequency rank #22,898, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ɾi.kɐ.ˈtu.ɾɐ/. criatura is at rank #5,400, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɾi.aˈtu.ɾɐ/ [kɾɪ.aˈtu.ɾɐ], AFI: /kɾjaˈtu.ɾɐ/ (coloquial).

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 28298, this pair ranks #40,522 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caricatura vs criatura

Shared letters: acirtu. Private to "caricatura": -. Private to "criatura": -.

"caricatura" · 10 letters · shape CVCVCVCVCV  ·  "criatura" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caricaturaacricatura · caircatura · carciatura · cariactura · caricatrua · caricattura · caricatuar · caricaturra
  • criaturaccriatura · ciratura · craitura · criatrua · criattura · criatuar · criaturra · criautra

Frequency comparison

caricatura#22,898
criatura#5,400

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caricatura" and "criatura" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kɐ.ɾi.kɐ.ˈtu.ɾɐ/ versus /kɾi.aˈtu.ɾɐ/ [kɾɪ.aˈtu.ɾɐ], AFI: /kɾjaˈtu.ɾɐ/ (coloquial)) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caricatura" or "criatura"?
"criatura" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,400 in our Portuguese list, against #22,898 for "caricatura". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering caricatura vs criatura

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 “caricatura” 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