Which to use
“caroço” and “carrão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,999
- “caroço” frequency rank
- #30,869
- “carrão” frequency rank
- 57868
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caroço | carrão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | semente de um fruto | andorinhão-real, (Tachymarptis melba) |
Where the eye mixes caroço and carrão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. caroço (CVCVCV) and carrão (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: caroço vs carrão
A purely visual mix-up. caroço (/kɐ.'ɾo.su/) and carrão (singular: /ka.'raŋ/ ou /ka.'raw/) 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 57868, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caroço is recorded at frequency rank #26,999, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.'ɾo.su/. carrão is at rank #30,869, tagged as anoun, pronounced singular: /ka.'raŋ/ ou /ka.'raw/.
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 57868, this pair ranks #9,081 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of caroço vs carrão
Shared letters: acor. Private to "caroço": ç. Private to "carrão": ã.
"caroço" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "carrão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "caroço" for "carrão" ever safe?
Which is more common, "caroço" or "carrão"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "caroço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "carrão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #9,081 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caroço" and "carrão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "carrão vs caução". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #9,081 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.