cárievscarmaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#40,971
“cárie” frequency rank
#32,094
“carma” frequency rank
73065
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cárie carma
Definition ulceração nos dentes e ossos, que os destrói progressivamente segundo o hinduísmo e o budismo, a lei de causa e efeito, na qual todas as ações, boas ou más, de uma pessoa geram reações correspondentes nesta vida ou em encarnações futuras

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cárie and carma apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
cárie
5 ch
carma

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cárie (/ˈka.ɾji/) and carma (/ˈkɐɾmɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cárie is recorded at frequency rank #40,971, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈka.ɾji/. carma is at rank #32,094, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɐɾmɐ/.

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 73065, this pair ranks #2,874 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of cárie vs carma

Shared letters: cr. Private to "cárie": eiá. Private to "carma": am.

"cárie" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "carma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • carmaacrma · camra · caram · carmma · carrma · ccarma · crama

Frequency comparison

cárie#40,971
carma#32,094

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cárie" and "carma" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈka.ɾji/ versus /ˈkɐɾmɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cárie" or "carma"?
"carma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,094 in our Portuguese list, against #40,971 for "cárie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cárie vs carma

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 “cárie” 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