Which to use
“chapa” and “chave” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,920
- “chapa” frequency rank
- #1,329
- “chave” frequency rank
- 7249
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chapa | chave |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | peça chata e plana de metal | objeto usado para abrir e fechar uma fechadura, algemas ou cadeado |
Where the eye mixes chapa and chave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses chapa with chave
A purely visual mix-up. chapa (/ˈʃa.pɐ/) and chave (/ˈʃa.vɨ/) 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 7249, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chapa is recorded at frequency rank #5,920, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈʃa.pɐ/. chave is at rank #1,329, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈʃa.vɨ/.
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 7249, this pair ranks #66,927 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chapa vs chave
Shared letters: ach. Private to "chapa": p. Private to "chave": ev.
"chapa" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "chave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chapa" for "chave" ever safe?
Frequency check: "chapa" vs "chave" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "chapa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #66,927 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chapa" and "chave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chapa vs chau". 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 #66,927 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.