Which to use
“exceção” is a noun and “exceto” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,327
- “exceção” frequency rank
- #2,421
- “exceto” frequency rank
- 5748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | exceção | exceto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de excetuar | parte contra a qual se propõe exceção |
Where the eye mixes exceção and exceto
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. exceção runs 7 letters (VCCVCVV) against exceto's 6 (VCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: exceção vs exceto
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: exceção is /ɐjʃ.sɛ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ while exceto is /ɐjʃ.ˈsɛ.tu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
exceção is recorded at frequency rank #3,327, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐjʃ.sɛ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. exceto is at rank #2,421, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɐjʃ.ˈsɛ.tu/.
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 5748, this pair ranks #68,812 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of exceção vs exceto
Shared letters: ceox. Private to "exceção": ãç. Private to "exceto": t.
"exceção" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV · "exceto" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- exceto ← ecxeto · excceto · exceot · excetto · excteo · execto · exxceto · xeceto
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "exceção" and "exceto" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "exceção" vs "exceto" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "exceção" and "exceto" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "exceção" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "exceto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,812 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "exceção" and "exceto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ereto vs exceto". 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 #68,812 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.