carmavscismaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,094
“carma” frequency rank
#32,106
“cisma” frequency rank
64200
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature carma cisma
Definition 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 ato de cismar, de cogitar

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
carma
5 ch
cisma

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. carma (/ˈkɐɾmɐ/) and cisma (/ˈsiʒ.mɐ/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64200, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

carma is recorded at frequency rank #32,094, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɐɾmɐ/. cisma is at rank #32,106, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈsiʒ.mɐ/.

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 64200, this pair ranks #5,873 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of carma vs cisma

Shared letters: acm. Private to "carma": r. Private to "cisma": is.

"carma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "cisma" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • carmaacrma · camra · caram · carmma · carrma · ccarma · crama
  • cismaccisma · cimsa · cisam · cismma · cissma · csima · icsma

Frequency comparison

carma#32,094
cisma#32,106

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "carma" and "cisma" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈkɐɾmɐ/ versus /ˈsiʒ.mɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "carma" or "cisma"?
"carma" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,094 in our Portuguese list, against #32,106 for "cisma". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering carma vs cisma

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 “carma” 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