Which to use
“cata” and “Cátia” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,681
- “cata” frequency rank
- #27,428
- “Cátia” frequency rank
- 59109
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cata | Cátia |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | busca | prenome feminino |
Where the eye mixes cata and Cátia
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. cata runs 4 letters (CVCV) against Cátia's 5 (CVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses cata with Cátia
A purely visual mix-up. cata (/ˈka.tɐ/) and Cátia (/ˈka.t͡ʃjɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59109, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cata is recorded at frequency rank #31,681, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈka.tɐ/. Cátia is at rank #27,428, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈka.t͡ʃjɐ/.
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 59109, this pair ranks #8,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cata vs Cátia
Shared letters: act. Private to "cata": -. Private to "Cátia": iá.
"cata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Cátia" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- cata ← acta · caat · catta · ccata · ctaa
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cata" for "Cátia" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "cata" or "Cátia" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cata" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Cátia" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #8,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cata" and "Cátia" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cata vs copta". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #8,367 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.