criançavscríticaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#597
“criança” frequency rank
#1,528
“crítica” frequency rank
2125
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature criança crítica
Definition ser humano que se começa a criar comentário de um certo tema que aponta-lhe erros, falhas ou pontos a serem melhorados

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set criança and crítica apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
criança
7 ch
crítica

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. criança (/kɾi.ɐ̃.ˈsɐ/) and crítica (/ˈkɾi.ti.kɐ/) 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 4 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2125, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

criança is recorded at frequency rank #597, classified as anoun, pronounced /kɾi.ɐ̃.ˈsɐ/. crítica is at rank #1,528, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkɾi.ti.kɐ/.

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 2125, this pair ranks #73,362 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of criança vs crítica

Shared letters: acir. Private to "criança": . Private to "crítica": .

"criança" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV  ·  "crítica" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Frequency comparison

criança#597
crítica#1,528

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "criança" and "crítica" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/kɾi.ɐ̃.ˈsɐ/ versus /ˈkɾi.ti.kɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "criança" or "crítica"?
"criança" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #597 in our Portuguese list, against #1,528 for "crítica". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering criança vs crítica

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 “criança” 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