dragagemvsdrenagemWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#43,392
“dragagem” frequency rank
#14,827
“drenagem” frequency rank
58219
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature dragagem drenagem
Definition uso de uma draga para aprofundar canal, rio ou porto ato ou efeito de drenar

Where the eye mixes dragagem and drenagem

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. dragagem and drenagem follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
dragagem
8 ch
drenagem

Visual trap between dragagem and drenagem

A purely visual mix-up. dragagem (/dɾɐ.ˈɡa.ʒɐ̃j̃/) and drenagem (/dɾɨ.ˈna.ʒɐ̃j̃/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58219, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

dragagem is recorded at frequency rank #43,392, classified as anoun, pronounced /dɾɐ.ˈɡa.ʒɐ̃j̃/. drenagem is at rank #14,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɾɨ.ˈna.ʒɐ̃j̃/.

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 58219, this pair ranks #8,874 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of dragagem vs drenagem

Shared letters: adegmr. Private to "dragagem": -. Private to "drenagem": n.

"dragagem" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC  ·  "drenagem" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • dragagem ← dargagem · ddragagem · draaggem · dragaegm · dragagemm · dragaggem · dragagme · draggaem
  • drenagem ← ddrenagem · dernagem · dreangem · drenaegm · drenagemm · drenaggem · drenagme · drengaem

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "dragagem" and "drenagem" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/dɾɐ.ˈɡa.ʒɐ̃j̃/ versus /dɾɨ.ˈna.ʒɐ̃j̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "dragagem" vs "drenagem" - which ranks higher?
"drenagem" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,827 in our Portuguese list, against #43,392 for "dragagem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "dragagem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "drenagem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #8,874 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • 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 #8,874 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list