Which to use
“escala” and “esmola” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,320
- “escala” frequency rank
- #23,658
- “esmola” frequency rank
- 25978
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | escala | esmola |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de escalar; escada; escalada | dinheiro dado aos pobres por caridade |
Where the eye mixes escala and esmola
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. escala and esmola 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 esmola
A purely visual mix-up. escala (/iʃ.ˈka.lɐ/) and esmola (/eʒ.ˈmɔ.lɐ/) 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 25978, 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/. esmola is at rank #23,658, tagged as anoun, pronounced /eʒ.ˈmɔ.lɐ/.
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 25978, this pair ranks #43,249 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of escala vs esmola
Shared letters: aels. Private to "escala": c. Private to "esmola": mo.
"escala" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "esmola" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "escala" and "esmola" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "escala" or "esmola"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "escala" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "esmola" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,249 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "escala" and "esmola" 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 #43,249 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.