cemitériovscritérioWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,980
“cemitério” frequency rank
#6,857
“critério” frequency rank
11837
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cemitério critério
Definition local destinado ao sepultamento dos mortos sinal que permite distinguir uma coisa dentre outras

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cemitério and critério apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
cemitério
8 ch
critério

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cemitério (/se.miˈtɛ.ɾi.u/) and critério (/kɾi.ˈtɛ.ɾju/) 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 11837, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cemitério is recorded at frequency rank #4,980, classified as anoun, pronounced /se.miˈtɛ.ɾi.u/. critério is at rank #6,857, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɾi.ˈtɛ.ɾju/.

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 11837, this pair ranks #60,923 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cemitério vs critério

Shared letters: ciorté. Private to "cemitério": em. Private to "critério": -.

"cemitério" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVV  ·  "critério" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

cemitério#4,980
critério#6,857

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cemitério" and "critério" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/se.miˈtɛ.ɾi.u/ versus /kɾi.ˈtɛ.ɾju/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cemitério" or "critério"?
"cemitério" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,980 in our Portuguese list, against #6,857 for "critério". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cemitério vs critério

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cemitério” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list