Which to use
“enxada” and “espada” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,913
- “enxada” frequency rank
- #4,230
- “espada” frequency rank
- 47143
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enxada | espada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | instrumento que consiste em uma lâmina de metal, com um orifício na parte oposta ao gume em que se encaixa um cabo em sentido perpendicular, usado para capinar, revolver ou cavar a terra, misturar argamassas, concretos etc | arma branca composta por um punho e uma lâmina pontiaguda e comprida, com um ou dois gumes |
Where the eye mixes enxada and espada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. enxada and espada follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses enxada with espada
A purely visual mix-up. enxada (/ẽ.ˈʃa.dɐ/) and espada ([ɪs.ˈpa.dɐ] ; [es.ˈpa.dɐ]) 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 47143, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enxada is recorded at frequency rank #42,913, classified as anoun, pronounced /ẽ.ˈʃa.dɐ/. espada is at rank #4,230, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ɪs.ˈpa.dɐ] ; [es.ˈpa.dɐ].
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 47143, this pair ranks #18,135 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of enxada vs espada
Shared letters: ade. Private to "enxada": nx. Private to "espada": ps.
"enxada" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "espada" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "enxada" and "espada" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "enxada" vs "espada" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "enxada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,135 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enxada" and "espada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enxada vs enxame". 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 #18,135 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.