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 eye mixes ciência and crença
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. ciência runs 7 letters (CVVCCVV) against crença's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between ciência and crença
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": iê. Private to "crença": erç.
"ciência" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVV · "crença" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ciência" for "crença" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "ciência" or "crença" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ciência" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crença" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,322 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ciência" and "crença" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conca vs crença". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #68,322 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.