enlacevsenxameWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#32,579
“enlace” frequency rank
#32,973
“enxame” frequency rank
65552
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature enlace enxame
Definition ato ou efeito de enlaçar agrupamento de abelhas da mesma colmeia

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set enlace and enxame apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
enlace
6 ch
enxame

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. enlace (/ẽ.ˈla.sɨ/) and enxame (/ẽ.ˈʃɐ.mɨ/) 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 65552, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

enlace is recorded at frequency rank #32,579, classified as anoun, pronounced /ẽ.ˈla.sɨ/. enxame is at rank #32,973, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ẽ.ˈʃɐ.mɨ/.

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 65552, this pair ranks #5,326 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of enlace vs enxame

Shared letters: aen. Private to "enlace": cl. Private to "enxame": mx.

"enlace" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "enxame" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • enlaceelnace · enalce · enlacce · enlaec · enlcae · enllace · ennlace · nelace
  • enxameenaxme · ennxame · enxaem · enxamme · enxmae · enxxame · exname · nexame

Frequency comparison

enlace#32,579
enxame#32,973

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "enlace" and "enxame" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ẽ.ˈla.sɨ/ versus /ẽ.ˈʃɐ.mɨ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "enlace" or "enxame"?
"enlace" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #32,579 in our Portuguese list, against #32,973 for "enxame". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering enlace vs enxame

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “enlace” 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