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 eye mixes criança and crítica
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. criança (CCVVCCV) and crítica (CCVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses criança with crítica
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": nç. Private to "crítica": tí.
"criança" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCCV · "crítica" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "criança" for "crítica" ever safe?
Frequency check: "criança" vs "crítica" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "criança" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crítica" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,362 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "criança" and "crítica" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cortiça vs crítica". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #73,362 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.