Which to use
“escala” and “escalão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,320
- “escala” frequency rank
- #10,000
- “escalão” frequency rank
- 12320
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | escala | escalão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de escalar; escada; escalada | nível hierárquico |
Where the eye mixes escala and escalão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. escala runs 6 letters (VCCVCV) against escalão's 7 (VCCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between escala and escalão
A purely visual mix-up. escala (/iʃ.ˈka.lɐ/) 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 12320, 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/. 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 12320, this pair ranks #60,323 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of escala vs escalão
Shared letters: acels. Private to "escala": -. Private to "escalão": oã.
"escala" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "escalão" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- escala ← ecsala · esacla · escaal · escalla · esccala · esclaa · esscala · secala
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "escala" and "escalão" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "escala" or "escalão"?
Useful next steps
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 "escalão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,323 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "escala" and "escalão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "escalão 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 #60,323 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.