Which to use
“expansão” and “expensas” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,075
- “expansão” frequency rank
- #41,998
- “expensas” frequency rank
- 45073
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | expansão | expensas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de expandir(-se) | despesas |
Where the eye mixes expansão and expensas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. expansão (VCCVCCVV) and expensas (VCCVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: expansão vs expensas
A purely visual mix-up. expansão (/ɐjʃ.pɐ̃.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and expensas (/ɐjʃ.ˈpẽ.sɐʃ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45073, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
expansão is recorded at frequency rank #3,075, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐjʃ.pɐ̃.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. expensas is at rank #41,998, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐjʃ.ˈpẽ.sɐʃ/.
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 45073, this pair ranks #20,360 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of expansão vs expensas
Shared letters: aenpsx. Private to "expansão": oã. Private to "expensas": -.
"expansão" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV · "expensas" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- expensas ← epxensas · exepnsas · expenass · expennsas · expensass · expenssa · expenssas · expesnas
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "expansão" for "expensas" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "expansão" or "expensas" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "expansão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "expensas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,360 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "expansão" and "expensas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expensas vs extensão". 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 #20,360 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.