Which to use
“empenho” and “espinho” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,623
- “empenho” frequency rank
- #16,755
- “espinho” frequency rank
- 28378
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | empenho | espinho |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de empenhar ('conceder algo material'); empenhamento | parte aguda e picante de um vegetal |
Letter map: empenho vs espinho
Shared letters muted; letters that set empenho and espinho apart highlighted. Shared run: 5. empenho and espinho follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Corpus notes: empenho and espinho
empenho and espinho 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 28378, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
empenho is recorded at frequency rank #11,623, classified as anoun. espinho is at rank #16,755, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈpi.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 28378, this pair ranks #40,436 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of empenho vs espinho
Shared letters: ehnop. Private to "empenho": m. Private to "espinho": is.
"empenho" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "espinho" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "empenho" and "espinho" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "empenho" or "espinho" show up more?
What to do next
You've compared "empenho" and "espinho". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "empenho" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espinho" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,436 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "empenho" and "espinho" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espinal vs espinho". 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 #40,436 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.