catvsceWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: cat is a noun, ce is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“cat” is a noun and “ce” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#7,740
“cat” frequency rank
#3,311
“ce” frequency rank
11051
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cat ce
Definition gato (Felis catus) o que

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cat and ce apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
cat
2 ch
ce

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

cat and ce form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11051, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cat is recorded at frequency rank #7,740, classified as anoun, pronounced /kʰaʰt̪/. ce is at rank #3,311, tagged as apron, pronounced /t͡ʃe/.

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 11051, this pair ranks #61,892 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

cat#7,740
ce#3,311

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cat" and "ce" be used interchangeably?
No, "cat" and "ce" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering cat vs ce

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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