Which to use
“decimal” and “décimo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,221
- “decimal” frequency rank
- #9,044
- “décimo” frequency rank
- 43265
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | decimal | décimo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | relativo a dez ou à décima parte | refere-se àquele que ocupa a posição dez em uma série; o que vem depois do nono |
Where the eye mixes decimal and décimo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between decimal and décimo
A purely visual mix-up. decimal (/dɛ.si.ˈmaɫ/) and décimo (/ˈdɛ.si.mu/) 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 43265, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
decimal is recorded at frequency rank #34,221, classified as anadj, pronounced /dɛ.si.ˈmaɫ/. décimo is at rank #9,044, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈdɛ.si.mu/.
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 43265, this pair ranks #22,391 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of decimal vs décimo
Shared letters: cdim. Private to "decimal": ael. Private to "décimo": oé.
"decimal" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "décimo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- decimal ← dceimal · ddecimal · deccimal · deciaml · decimall · decimla · decimmal · decmial
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "decimal" and "décimo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "decimal" or "décimo" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "decimal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "décimo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,391 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "decimal" and "décimo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "décimo vs dízimo". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #22,391 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.