Which to use
“eficaz” is an adjective and “ética” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,635
- “eficaz” frequency rank
- #3,815
- “ética” frequency rank
- 8450
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eficaz | ética |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que produz o seu efeito | estudo filosófico das leis morais que regem as ações humanas |
Where the eye mixes eficaz and ética
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. eficaz runs 6 letters (VCVCVC) against ética's 5 (VCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: eficaz vs ética
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eficaz is /i.fi.ˈkaʃ/ while ética is /ˈɛ.ti.kɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8450, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eficaz is recorded at frequency rank #4,635, classified as anadj, pronounced /i.fi.ˈkaʃ/. ética is at rank #3,815, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɛ.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 8450, this pair ranks #65,319 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eficaz vs ética
Shared letters: aci. Private to "eficaz": efz. Private to "ética": té.
"eficaz" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "ética" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- eficaz ← efciaz · efficaz · efiacz · eficazz · eficcaz · eficza · eifcaz · feicaz
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "eficaz" and "ética" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "eficaz" or "ética" 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 "eficaz" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ética" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #65,319 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eficaz" and "ética" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Érico vs ética". 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 #65,319 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.