ciênciavscrençaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,272
“ciência” frequency rank
#4,892
“crença” frequency rank
6164
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ciência crença
Definition conhecimento aprofundado sobre algo ato ou efeito de crer, acreditar; convicção; opinião

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ciência and crença apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
ciência
6 ch
crença

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ciência (/si.ˈeɲ.sjɐ/) and crença (/ˈkɾẽ.sɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6164, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ciência is recorded at frequency rank #1,272, classified as anoun, pronounced /si.ˈeɲ.sjɐ/. crença is at rank #4,892, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɾẽ.sɐ/.

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 6164, this pair ranks #68,322 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ciência vs crença

Shared letters: acn. Private to "ciência": . Private to "crença": erç.

"ciência" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVV  ·  "crença" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Frequency comparison

ciência#1,272
crença#4,892

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ciência" and "crença" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/si.ˈeɲ.sjɐ/ versus /ˈkɾẽ.sɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ciência" or "crença"?
"ciência" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,272 in our Portuguese list, against #4,892 for "crença". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ciência vs crença

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ciência” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list