Which to use
“escala” and “escape” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,320
- “escala” frequency rank
- #8,891
- “escape” frequency rank
- 11211
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | escala | escape |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de escalar; escada; escalada | ato ou efeito de escapar; escapamento |
Where the eye mixes escala and escape
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. escala and escape 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 escala with escape
A purely visual mix-up. escala (/iʃ.ˈka.lɐ/) and escape (/iʃ.ˈka.pɨ/) 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 11211, 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/. escape is at rank #8,891, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈka.pɨ/.
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 11211, this pair ranks #61,695 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of escala vs escape
Shared letters: aces. Private to "escala": l. Private to "escape": p.
"escala" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "escape" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "escala" and "escape" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "escala" or "escape" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "escala" and "escape" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "escala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "escape" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #61,695 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "escala" and "escape" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "escape vs estepe". 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 #61,695 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.