crençavscriançaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#4,892
“crença” frequency rank
#597
“criança” frequency rank
5489
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature crença criança
Definition ato ou efeito de crer, acreditar; convicção; opinião ser humano que se começa a criar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set crença and criança apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
crença
7 ch
criança

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. crença (/ˈkɾẽ.sɐ/) and criança (/kɾi.ɐ̃.ˈsɐ/) 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 5489, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

crença is recorded at frequency rank #4,892, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɾẽ.sɐ/. criança is at rank #597, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɾi.ɐ̃.ˈsɐ/.

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 5489, this pair ranks #69,117 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of crença vs criança

Shared letters: acnrç. Private to "crença": e. Private to "criança": i.

"crença" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "criança" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV

Frequency comparison

crença#4,892
criança#597

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "crença" and "criança" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈkɾẽ.sɐ/ versus /kɾi.ɐ̃.ˈsɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "crença" or "criança"?
"criança" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #597 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 crença vs criança

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 “crença” 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