carovscarvãoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: caro is a adjective, carvão is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“caro” is an adjective and “carvão” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,178
“caro” frequency rank
#5,283
“carvão” frequency rank
7461
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caro carvão
Definition cujo preço é elevado 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 caro and carvão apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
caro
6 ch
carvão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: caro is anadjective and carvãoanoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7461, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caro is recorded at frequency rank #2,178, classified as anadj. 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 7461, this pair ranks #66,665 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of caro vs carvão

Shared letters: acor. Private to "caro": -. Private to "carvão": .

"caro" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "carvão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caroacro · caor · ccaro · crao

Frequency comparison

caro#2,178
carvão#5,283

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caro" and "carvão" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caro" is an adjective and "carvão" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "caro" or "carvão"?
"caro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,178 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 caro vs carvão

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “caro”; for a noun, it's “carvão”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “caro” 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