escadavsescalãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,626
“escada” frequency rank
#10,000
“escalão” frequency rank
15626
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature escada escalão
Definition equipamento formado por degraus que é usado para subir e descer de lugares altos nível hierárquico

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
escada
7 ch
escalão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. escada (/isˈka.dɐ/, /esˈka.dɐ/) and escalão (/iʃ.kɐ.ˈlɐ̃w̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

escada is recorded at frequency rank #5,626, classified as anoun, pronounced /isˈka.dɐ/, /esˈka.dɐ/. escalão is at rank #10,000, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.kɐ.ˈlɐ̃w̃/.

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 15626, this pair ranks #56,143 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of escada vs escalão

Shared letters: aces. Private to "escada": d. Private to "escalão": loã.

"escada" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV  ·  "escalão" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • escadaecsada · esacda · escaad · escadda · esccada · escdaa · esscada · secada

Frequency comparison

escada#5,626
escalão#10,000

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "escada" and "escalão" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/isˈka.dɐ/, /esˈka.dɐ/ versus /iʃ.kɐ.ˈlɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "escada" or "escalão"?
"escada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,626 in our Portuguese list, against #10,000 for "escalão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering escada vs escalão

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 “escada” 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