Which to use
“espantado” and “espantoso” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,348
- “espantado” frequency rank
- #26,373
- “espantoso” frequency rank
- 55721
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | espantado | espantoso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | admirado | que causa grande surpresa ou espanto |
Where the eye mixes espantado and espantoso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. espantado and espantoso follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: espantado vs espantoso
A purely visual mix-up. espantado (/iʃ.pɐ̃.ˈta.du/) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55721, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
espantado is recorded at frequency rank #29,348, classified as anadj, pronounced /iʃ.pɐ̃.ˈta.du/. 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 55721, this pair ranks #10,432 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of espantado vs espantoso
Shared letters: aenopst. Private to "espantado": d. Private to "espantoso": -.
"espantado" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "espantoso" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "espantado" and "espantoso" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "espantado" vs "espantoso" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "espantado" 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 #10,432 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "espantado" and "espantoso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espantado vs espartano". 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 #10,432 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.