criadavscriançaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,566
“criada” frequency rank
#597
“criança” frequency rank
2163
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature criada criança
Definition feminino de criado. ser humano que se começa a criar

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
criada
7 ch
criança

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. criada (/kɾi.ˈa.dɐ/) 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 2163, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

criada is recorded at frequency rank #1,566, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɾi.ˈa.dɐ/. 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 2163, this pair ranks #73,318 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of criada vs criança

Shared letters: acir. Private to "criada": d. Private to "criança": .

"criada" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV  ·  "criança" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • criadaccriada · cirada · craida · criaad · criadda · cridaa · crriada · rciada

Frequency comparison

criada#1,566
criança#597

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "criada" and "criança" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kɾi.ˈa.dɐ/ versus /kɾi.ɐ̃.ˈsɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "criada" or "criança"?
"criança" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #597 in our Portuguese list, against #1,566 for "criada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering criada 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 “criada” 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