Which to use
“empenho” and “engenho” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,623
- “empenho” frequency rank
- #16,507
- “engenho” frequency rank
- 28130
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empenho | engenho |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de empenhar ('conceder algo material'); empenhamento | fazenda destinada à cultura da cana-de-açúcar e fabricação de açúcar e álcool |
Letter map: empenho vs engenho
Shared letters muted; letters that set empenho and engenho apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Pair insight - empenho / engenho
empenho and engenho are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28130, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empenho is recorded at frequency rank #11,623, classified as anoun. engenho is at rank #16,507, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ẽ.ˈʒɐj.ɲu/.
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 28130, this pair ranks #40,732 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of empenho vs engenho
Shared letters: ehno. Private to "empenho": mp. Private to "engenho": g.
"empenho" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "engenho" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "empenho" and "engenho" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "empenho" or "engenho" show up more?
After this comparison
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "empenho" and "engenho".
- Full dictionary entry for "empenho" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "engenho" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,732 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empenho" and "engenho" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "engenho vs engenhoso". 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 #40,732 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.