criação vs criança, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#770
“criação” frequency rank: #597
“criança” frequency rank: 1367
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	criação	criança
Definition	fazer algo do nada; trazer algo à existência	ser humano que se começa a criar

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

criação

7 ch

criança

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. criação (/kɾi.aˈsɐ̃w̃/ [kɾɪ.aˈsɐ̃ʊ̯̃]) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1367, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

criação is recorded at frequency rank #770, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɾi.aˈsɐ̃w̃/ [kɾɪ.aˈsɐ̃ʊ̯̃]. 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 1367, this pair ranks #74,216 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of criação vs criança

Shared letters: acirç. Private to "criação": oã. Private to "criança": n.

"criação" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVV · "criança" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV

Frequency comparison

criação#770

criança#597

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "criação" and "criança" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/kɾi.aˈsɐ̃w̃/ [kɾɪ.aˈsɐ̃ʊ̯̃] versus /kɾi.ɐ̃.ˈsɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "criação" or "criança"?

"criança" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #597 in our Portuguese list, against #770 for "criação". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering criação 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 “criação” entry
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