Which to use
“expansão” and “extensão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,075
- “expansão” frequency rank
- #2,422
- “extensão” frequency rank
- 5497
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | expansão | extensão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de expandir(-se) | ato ou efeito de estender-se |
Where the eye mixes expansão and extensão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. expansão and extensão follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between expansão and extensão
A purely visual mix-up. expansão (/ɐjʃ.pɐ̃.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and extensão (/es.tẽj.ˈsãw/) 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 5497, 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/. extensão is at rank #2,422, tagged as anoun, pronounced /es.tẽj.ˈsãw/.
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 5497, this pair ranks #69,101 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of expansão vs extensão
Shared letters: enosxã. Private to "expansão": ap. Private to "extensão": t.
"expansão" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV · "extensão" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "expansão" and "extensão" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "expansão" or "extensão"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "expansão" and "extensão" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "expansão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "extensão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #69,101 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "expansão" and "extensão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expansão vs expensas". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #69,101 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.