Which to use
“catholic” and “católico” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,046
- “catholic” frequency rank
- #8,016
- “católico” frequency rank
- 47062
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | catholic | católico |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | eclético | que tem o catolicismo como religião |
Where the eye mixes catholic and católico
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. catholic (CVCCVCVC) and católico (CVCVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses catholic with católico
A purely visual mix-up. catholic (/ˈkaθ(ə)lɪk/ (UK); /ˈkæθ(ə)lɪk/ (US)) and católico (/kɐ.ˈtɔ.li.ku/) 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 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 47062, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
catholic is recorded at frequency rank #39,046, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈkaθ(ə)lɪk/ (UK); /ˈkæθ(ə)lɪk/ (US). católico is at rank #8,016, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kɐ.ˈtɔ.li.ku/.
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 47062, this pair ranks #18,217 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of catholic vs católico
Shared letters: acilot. Private to "catholic": h. Private to "católico": ó.
"catholic" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "católico" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- catholic ← actholic · cahtolic · cathholic · cathloic · cathoilc · catholci · catholicc · cathollic
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "catholic" for "católico" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "catholic" or "católico" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "catholic" and "católico" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "catholic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "católico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,217 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "catholic" and "católico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caótico vs católico". 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 #18,217 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.