Which to use
“conjunção” and “contenção” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,948
- “conjunção” frequency rank
- #11,239
- “contenção” frequency rank
- 35187
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | conjunção | contenção |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | palavra invariável que liga duas orações (proposições), ou termos semelhantes da mesma oração (conjunção coordenativa, que também se diz apenas coordenativa), ou liga uma oração principal a uma oração subordinativa/oração subordinada (conjunção subordinativa, que também se diz apenas subordinativa) | ato ou efeito de conter, de controlar ou de reprimir |
Where the eye mixes conjunção and contenção
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. conjunção and contenção follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: conjunção vs contenção
A purely visual mix-up. conjunção (/kõ.ʒũ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and contenção (/kõ.tẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 35187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
conjunção is recorded at frequency rank #23,948, classified as anoun, pronounced /kõ.ʒũ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. contenção is at rank #11,239, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kõ.tẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.
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 35187, this pair ranks #31,894 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of conjunção vs contenção
Shared letters: cnoãç. Private to "conjunção": ju. Private to "contenção": et.
"conjunção" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV · "contenção" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "conjunção" and "contenção" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "conjunção" or "contenção"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "conjunção" and "contenção" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "conjunção" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contenção" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #31,894 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "conjunção" and "contenção" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contenção vs contenda". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #31,894 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.