Which to use
“chave” and “chefe” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,329
- “chave” frequency rank
- #752
- “chefe” frequency rank
- 2081
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chave | chefe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | objeto usado para abrir e fechar uma fechadura, algemas ou cadeado | pessoa que se destaca pelas qualidades de autoridade, competência, poder de decisão etc |
Where the eye mixes chave and chefe
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: chave vs chefe
A purely visual mix-up. chave (/ˈʃa.vɨ/) and chefe (/ˈʃɛ.fɨ/) 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 2081, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chave is recorded at frequency rank #1,329, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈʃa.vɨ/. chefe is at rank #752, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈʃɛ.fɨ/.
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 2081, this pair ranks #73,410 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chave vs chefe
Shared letters: ceh. Private to "chave": av. Private to "chefe": f.
"chave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "chefe" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "chave" and "chefe" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "chave" or "chefe"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "chave" and "chefe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "chave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chefe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,410 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chave" and "chefe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chau vs chave". 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 #73,410 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.