Which to use
“célula” and “coluna” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,030
- “célula” frequency rank
- #2,766
- “coluna” frequency rank
- 10796
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | célula | coluna |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | unidade estrutural básica da constituição dos seres vivos, excetos dos vírus | pilar cilíndrico em construções |
Where the eye mixes célula and coluna
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses célula with coluna
A purely visual mix-up. célula (/ˈsɛ.lu.lə/) and coluna (/ku.ˈlu.nɐ/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10796, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
célula is recorded at frequency rank #8,030, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsɛ.lu.lə/. coluna is at rank #2,766, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ku.ˈlu.nɐ/.
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 10796, this pair ranks #62,220 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of célula vs coluna
Shared letters: aclu. Private to "célula": é. Private to "coluna": no.
"célula" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "coluna" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- coluna ← ccoluna · clouna · colluna · colnua · coluan · colunna · coulna · ocluna
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "célula" and "coluna" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "célula" or "coluna" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "célula" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coluna" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,220 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "célula" and "coluna" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "colono vs coluna". 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 #62,220 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.