chavevschuvaConfusable pair

Which to use

“chave” and “chuva” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,329
“chave” frequency rank
#1,563
“chuva” frequency rank
2892
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chave chuva
Definition objeto usado para abrir e fechar uma fechadura, algemas ou cadeado fenômeno recorrente em que ocorre precipitação de água em estado líquido em volume maior ou igual a gotas

Where the eye mixes chave and chuva

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
chave
5 ch
chuva

Look-alike desk: chave vs chuva

A purely visual mix-up. chave (/ˈʃa.vɨ/) and chuva (/'ʃu.vɐ/) 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 2892, 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/. chuva is at rank #1,563, tagged as anoun, pronounced /'ʃu.vɐ/.

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 2892, this pair ranks #72,341 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of chave vs chuva

Shared letters: achv. Private to "chave": e. Private to "chuva": u.

"chave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "chuva" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chavecahve · cchave · chaev · chavve · chhave · chvae · hcave
  • chuvacchuva · chhuva · chuav · chuvva · chvua · cuhva · hcuva

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "chave" and "chuva" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈʃa.vɨ/ versus /'ʃu.vɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "chave" or "chuva" show up more?
"chave" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,329 in our Portuguese list, against #1,563 for "chuva". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "chave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "chuva" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #72,341 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "chave" and "chuva" 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 #72,341 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list