estatalvsestátuaTell them apart

Quick tell: estatal is a adjective, estátua is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“estatal” is an adjective and “estátua” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,815
“estatal” frequency rank
#5,944
“estátua” frequency rank
10759
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature estatal estátua
Definition do estado, relativo ao estado obra de arte desenvolvida no espaço (três dimensões) que representa um ser, normalmente uma mulher ou um homem

Where the eye mixes estatal and estátua

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. estatal (VCCVCVC) and estátua (VCCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
estatal
7 ch
estátua

Why the eye confuses estatal with estátua

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: estatal is /iʃ.tɐ.ˈtaɫ/ while estátua is /iʃ.ˈta.twɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10759, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

estatal is recorded at frequency rank #4,815, classified as anadj, pronounced /iʃ.tɐ.ˈtaɫ/. estátua is at rank #5,944, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈta.twɐ/.

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 10759, this pair ranks #62,262 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of estatal vs estátua

Shared letters: aest. Private to "estatal": l. Private to "estátua": uá.

"estatal" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC  ·  "estátua" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • estatal ← esattal · esstatal · estaatl · estatall · estatla · estattal · esttaal · esttatal

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "estatal" and "estátua" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "estatal" is an adjective and "estátua" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "estatal" vs "estátua" - which ranks higher?
"estatal" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,815 in our Portuguese list, against #5,944 for "estátua". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "estatal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "estátua" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #62,262 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "estatal" and "estátua" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "espátula vs estátua". 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 #62,262 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list