Which to use
“escala” and “escalada” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,320
- “escala” frequency rank
- #8,048
- “escalada” frequency rank
- 10368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | escala | escalada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de escalar; escada; escalada | ação de escalar; escalamento |
Where the eye mixes escala and escalada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. escala runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against escalada's 8 (VCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: escala vs escalada
A purely visual mix-up. escala (/iʃ.ˈka.lɐ/) and escalada (/iʃ.kɐ.ˈla.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 2 extra letter(s) - “escala” sits inside “escalada”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10368, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
escala is recorded at frequency rank #2,320, classified as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈka.lɐ/. escalada is at rank #8,048, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.kɐ.ˈla.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 10368, this pair ranks #62,758 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of escala vs escalada
Shared letters: acels. Private to "escala": -. Private to "escalada": d.
"escala" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "escalada" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "escala" for "escalada" ever safe?
Which is more common, "escala" or "escalada"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "escala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "escalada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,758 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "escala" and "escalada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "escala vs estalo". 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 #62,758 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.