Which to use
“espaçoso” and “espantoso” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,694
- “espaçoso” frequency rank
- #26,373
- “espantoso” frequency rank
- 65067
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espaçoso | espantoso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que tem espaço | que causa grande surpresa ou espanto |
Where the eye mixes espaçoso and espantoso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. espaçoso runs 8 letters (VCCVCVCV) against espantoso's 9 (VCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between espaçoso and espantoso
A purely visual mix-up. espaçoso (/iʃ.pɐ.ˈso.zu/) and espantoso (/iʃ.pɐ̃.ˈto.zu/) 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 65067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espaçoso is recorded at frequency rank #38,694, classified as anadj, pronounced /iʃ.pɐ.ˈso.zu/. espantoso is at rank #26,373, tagged as anadj, pronounced /iʃ.pɐ̃.ˈto.zu/.
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 65067, this pair ranks #5,537 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of espaçoso vs espantoso
Shared letters: aeops. Private to "espaçoso": ç. Private to "espantoso": nt.
"espaçoso" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV · "espantoso" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- espantoso ← epsantoso · esapntoso · espanntoso · espanotso · espantoos · espantosso · espantsoo · espanttoso
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "espaçoso" for "espantoso" ever safe?
Frequency check: "espaçoso" vs "espantoso" - which ranks higher?
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 "espaçoso" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "espantoso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #5,537 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espaçoso" and "espantoso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espantado vs espantoso". 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 #5,537 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.