Which to use
“expensas” and “extensão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,998
- “expensas” frequency rank
- #2,422
- “extensão” frequency rank
- 44420
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | expensas | extensão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | despesas | ato ou efeito de estender-se |
Where the eye mixes expensas and extensão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. expensas (VCCVCCVC) and extensão (VCCVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses expensas with extensão
A purely visual mix-up. expensas (/ɐjʃ.ˈpẽ.sɐʃ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44420, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
expensas is recorded at frequency rank #41,998, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐjʃ.ˈpẽ.sɐʃ/. 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 44420, this pair ranks #21,069 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of expensas vs extensão
Shared letters: ensx. Private to "expensas": ap. Private to "extensão": otã.
"expensas" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "extensão" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- expensas ← epxensas · exepnsas · expenass · expennsas · expensass · expenssa · expenssas · expesnas
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "expensas" and "extensão" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "expensas" vs "extensão" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "expensas" and "extensão" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "expensas" 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 #21,069 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "expensas" and "extensão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expansão vs expensas". 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 #21,069 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.