Which to use
“escala” and “espada” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,320
- “escala” frequency rank
- #4,230
- “espada” frequency rank
- 6550
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | escala | espada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de escalar; escada; escalada | arma branca composta por um punho e uma lâmina pontiaguda e comprida, com um ou dois gumes |
Where the eye mixes escala and espada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. escala and espada follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: escala vs espada
A purely visual mix-up. escala (/iʃ.ˈka.lɐ/) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6550, 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/. 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 6550, this pair ranks #67,857 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of escala vs espada
Shared letters: aes. Private to "escala": cl. Private to "espada": dp.
"escala" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV · "espada" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "escala" for "espada" ever safe?
Frequency check: "escala" vs "espada" - which ranks higher?
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 "espada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #67,857 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "escala" and "espada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enxada vs espada". 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 #67,857 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.