exceção vs execução, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“exceção” and “execução” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,327
“exceção” frequency rank: #2,322
“execução” frequency rank: 5649
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	exceção	execução
Definition	ato ou efeito de excetuar	ato ou efeito de executar, de levar a efeito

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set exceção and execução apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

exceção

8 ch

execução

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. exceção (/ɐjʃ.sɛ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and execução (/e.ze.ku.ˈsɐ̃w/) 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 5649, 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/. execução is at rank #2,322, tagged as anoun, pronounced /e.ze.ku.ˈsɐ̃w/.

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 5649, this pair ranks #68,930 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of exceção vs execução

Shared letters: ceoxãç. Private to "exceção": -. Private to "execução": u.

"exceção" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV · "execução" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

exceção#3,327

execução#2,322

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "exceção" and "execução" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ɐjʃ.sɛ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /e.ze.ku.ˈsɐ̃w/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "exceção" or "execução"?

"execução" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,322 in our Portuguese list, against #3,327 for "exceção". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering exceção vs execução

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “exceção” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable