Which to use
“chá” and “cri” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,711
- “chá” frequency rank
- #28,523
- “cri” frequency rank
- 31234
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chá | cri |
|---|---|---|
| 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) | povo indígena da América do Norte, que habitava desde as montanhas Rochosas até o oceano Atlântico, tanto nos Estados Unidos da América quanto no Canadá |
Where the eye mixes chá and cri
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses chá with cri
A purely visual mix-up. chá (/ˈʃa/) and cri (/ˈkɾi/) 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 31234, 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/. cri is at rank #28,523, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɾi/.
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 31234, this pair ranks #36,915 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chá vs cri
Shared letters: c. Private to "chá": há. Private to "cri": ir.
"chá" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "cri" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chá" for "cri" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "chá" or "cri" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chá" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cri" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #36,915 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chá" and "cri" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coin vs cri". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #36,915 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.