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 eye mixes caroço and cartão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. caroço (CVCVCV) and cartão (CVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: caroço vs cartão
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": tã.
"caroço" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "cartão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "caroço" and "cartão" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "caroço" or "cartão" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "caroço" and "cartão" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "caroço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cartão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,018 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caroço" and "cartão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caraca vs caroço". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #40,018 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.