diversão vs divisão, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#3,896
“diversão” frequency rank: #2,045
“divisão” frequency rank: 5941
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	diversão	divisão
Definition	mudança de direção, desvio	ato ou efeito de dividir

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set diversão and divisão apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

diversão

7 ch

divisão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. diversão (/di.vɨɾ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and divisão (/dʒi.vi.ˈzãw/) 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 5941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

diversão is recorded at frequency rank #3,896, classified as anoun, pronounced /di.vɨɾ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. divisão is at rank #2,045, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dʒi.vi.ˈzãw/.

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 5941, this pair ranks #68,602 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of diversão vs divisão

Shared letters: diosvã. Private to "diversão": er. Private to "divisão": -.

"diversão" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV · "divisão" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

diversão#3,896

divisão#2,045

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "diversão" and "divisão" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/di.vɨɾ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /dʒi.vi.ˈzãw/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "diversão" or "divisão"?

"divisão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,045 in our Portuguese list, against #3,896 for "diversão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering diversão vs divisão

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 “diversão” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable