chávsciWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: chá is a noun, ci is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“chá” is a noun and “ci” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,711
“chá” frequency rank
#19,655
“ci” frequency rank
22366
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chá ci
Definition planta da família das Teáceas, originária do Extremo Oriente, cultivada por causa de suas folhas que contêm um alcalóide, a teína (cafeína do chá) tu, pronome pessoal sujeito da segunda pessoa do singular:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chá and ci apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
chá
2 ch
ci

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

chá and ci form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22366, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chá is recorded at frequency rank #2,711, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈʃa/. ci is at rank #19,655, tagged as apron, pronounced /tsi/.

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 22366, this pair ranks #47,692 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Frequency comparison

chá#2,711
ci#19,655

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chá" and "ci" be used interchangeably?
No, "chá" and "ci" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering chá vs ci

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “chá”; for a pronoun, it's “ci”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chá” 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