celtavsceraWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: celta is a adjective, cera is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“celta” is an adjective and “cera” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,959
“celta” frequency rank
#10,145
“cera” frequency rank
32104
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature celta cera
Definition relativo a celta (substantivo de dois gêneros) ou aos celtas substância que constitui os favos das abelhas

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
celta
4 ch
cera

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: celta is /ˈsɛɫ.tɐ/ while cera is /ˈse.ɾɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32104, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

celta is recorded at frequency rank #21,959, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈsɛɫ.tɐ/. cera is at rank #10,145, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈse.ɾɐ/.

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 32104, this pair ranks #35,796 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of celta vs cera

Shared letters: ace. Private to "celta": lt. Private to "cera": r.

"celta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "cera" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • celtaccelta · celat · cellta · celtta · cetla · cleta · eclta
  • ceraccera · cear · cerra · crea · ecra

Frequency comparison

celta#21,959
cera#10,145

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "celta" and "cera" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "celta" is an adjective and "cera" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "celta" or "cera"?
"cera" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,145 in our Portuguese list, against #21,959 for "celta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering celta vs cera

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list