categoriavscategoryConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#1,328
“categoria” frequency rank
#34,184
“category” frequency rank
35512
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature categoria category
Definition tema, série ou grupo de coisas relacionadas ou análogas; caso haja analogia (pontos em comum) do ponto de vista semântico, ou seja, quanto aos sentidos das palavras, tal série categórica é denominada "tesauro" ou "thesaurus" categoria

Where the eye mixes categoria and category

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. categoria runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVV) against category's 8 (CVCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

9 ch
categoria
8 ch
category

Visual trap between categoria and category

A purely visual mix-up. categoria (/kɐ.tɨ.ɡu.ˈɾi.ɐ/) and category (/ˈkætəˌgoɹi/) 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 35512, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

categoria is recorded at frequency rank #1,328, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɐ.tɨ.ɡu.ˈɾi.ɐ/. category is at rank #34,184, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkætəˌgoɹi/.

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 35512, this pair ranks #31,539 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of categoria vs category

Shared letters: acegort. Private to "categoria": i. Private to "category": y.

"categoria" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVV  ·  "category" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • categoria ← actegoria · caetgoria · categgoria · categoira · categorai · categorria · categroia · cateogria
  • category ← actegory · caetgory · categgory · categorry · categoryy · categoyr · categroy · cateogry

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "categoria" and "category" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kɐ.tɨ.ɡu.ˈɾi.ɐ/ versus /ˈkætəˌgoɹi/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "categoria" vs "category" - which ranks higher?
"categoria" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,328 in our Portuguese list, against #34,184 for "category". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "categoria" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "category" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #31,539 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "categoria" and "category" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "categoria vs categorizar". 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 #31,539 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list