caução vs causar, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“caução” is a noun and “causar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#43,325
“caução” frequency rank: #2,619
“causar” frequency rank: 45944
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	caução	causar
Definition	valor depositado como garantia de realização de um compromisso	fazer acontecer, ser causa de

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set caução and causar apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

caução

6 ch

causar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: caução is anoun and causaraverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45944, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

caução is recorded at frequency rank #43,325, classified as anoun. causar is at rank #2,619, tagged as averb, pronounced /kaw.ˈzaɾ/.

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 45944, this pair ranks #19,444 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of caução vs causar

Shared letters: acu. Private to "caução": oãç. Private to "causar": rs.

"caução" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV · "causar" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

causar ← casuar · cauasr · causarr · causra · caussar · ccausar · cuasar

Frequency comparison

caução#43,325

causar#2,619

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "caução" and "causar" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "caução" is a noun and "causar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "caução" or "causar"?

"causar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,619 in our Portuguese list, against #43,325 for "caução". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering caução vs causar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “caução”; for a verb, it's “causar”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “caução” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable