Which to use
“chau” is an intj and “chave” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,350
- “chau” frequency rank
- #1,329
- “chave” frequency rank
- 50679
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chau | chave |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | até logo; adeus! | objeto usado para abrir e fechar uma fechadura, algemas ou cadeado |
Where the eye mixes chau and chave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. chau runs 4 letters (CCVV) against chave's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses chau with chave
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chau is /ʃaʊ/ while chave is /ˈʃa.vɨ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50679, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chau is recorded at frequency rank #49,350, classified as anintj, pronounced /ʃaʊ/. 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 50679, this pair ranks #14,274 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of chau vs chave
Shared letters: ach. Private to "chau": u. Private to "chave": ev.
"chau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "chave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chau" for "chave" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "chau" or "chave" 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 "chau" 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 #14,274 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chau" and "chave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chau vs ciao". 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 #14,274 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.