eficazvséticaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: eficaz is a adjective, ética is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set eficaz and ética apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
eficaz
5 ch
ética

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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": .

"eficaz" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC  ·  "ética" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eficazefciaz · efficaz · efiacz · eficazz · eficcaz · eficza · eifcaz · feicaz

Frequency comparison

eficaz#4,635
ética#3,815

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eficaz" and "ética" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "eficaz" is an adjective and "ética" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "eficaz" or "ética"?
"ética" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,815 in our Portuguese list, against #4,635 for "eficaz". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering eficaz vs ética

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “eficaz”; for a noun, it's “ética”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “eficaz” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list