Which to use
“catalão” is an adjective and “catarro” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #11,024
- “catalão” frequency rank
- #44,261
- “catarro” frequency rank
- 55285
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | catalão | catarro |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | relacionado à Catalunha, região da Espanha | muco secretado, geralmente patológico |
Where the eye mixes catalão and catarro
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. catalão (CVCVCVV) and catarro (CVCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses catalão with catarro
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: catalão is /ka.ta.ˈlãw/ while catarro is /kɐ.ˈta.Ru/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55285, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
catalão is recorded at frequency rank #11,024, classified as anadj, pronounced /ka.ta.ˈlãw/. catarro is at rank #44,261, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.ˈta.Ru/.
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 55285, this pair ranks #10,687 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of catalão vs catarro
Shared letters: acot. Private to "catalão": lã. Private to "catarro": r.
"catalão" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "catarro" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- catarro ← actarro · caatrro · cataro · cataror · catraro · cattarro · ccatarro · ctaarro
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "catalão" and "catarro" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "catalão" or "catarro" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "catalão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "catarro" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #10,687 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "catalão" and "catarro" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cadarço vs catarro". 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 #10,687 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.