Which to use
“escada” and “espada” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,626
- “escada” frequency rank
- #4,230
- “espada” frequency rank
- 9856
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | escada | espada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | equipamento formado por degraus que é usado para subir e descer de lugares altos | arma branca composta por um punho e uma lâmina pontiaguda e comprida, com um ou dois gumes |
Where the eye mixes escada and espada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between escada and espada
A purely visual mix-up. escada (/isˈka.dɐ/, /esˈka.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 differ by a single letter - c in “escada” becomes p in “espada”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9856, 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/. 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 9856, this pair ranks #63,435 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of escada vs espada
Shared letters: ades. Private to "escada": c. Private to "espada": p.
"escada" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "espada" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "escada" and "espada" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "escada" or "espada"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "escada" 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 #63,435 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "escada" and "espada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enxada vs escada". 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 #63,435 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.