caroçovscartãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#26,999
“caroço” frequency rank
#1,769
“cartão” frequency rank
28768
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature caroço cartão
Definition semente de um fruto papel forte

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caroço and cartão apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
caroço
6 ch
cartão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. caroço (/kɐ.'ɾo.su/) and cartão (/kɐɾ.ˈtɐ̃w̃/) 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 28768, 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/. cartão is at rank #1,769, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐɾ.ˈtɐ̃w̃/.

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 28768, this pair ranks #40,018 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caroço vs cartão

Shared letters: acor. Private to "caroço": ç. Private to "cartão": .

"caroço" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "cartão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Frequency comparison

caroço#26,999
cartão#1,769

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caroço" and "cartão" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kɐ.'ɾo.su/ versus /kɐɾ.ˈtɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "caroço" or "cartão"?
"cartão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,769 in our Portuguese list, against #26,999 for "caroço". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering caroço vs cartão

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 “caroço” 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