expiaçãovsexpiraçãoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#38,273
“expiação” frequency rank
#46,322
“expiração” frequency rank
84595
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature expiação expiração
Definition ato ou efeito de expiar saída de ar dos pulmões para fora do organismo

Where the eye mixes expiação and expiração

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. expiação runs 8 letters (VCCVVCVV) against expiração's 9 (VCCVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
expiação
9 ch
expiração

Look-alike desk: expiação vs expiração

A purely visual mix-up. expiação (/ɐjʃ.pjɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and expiração (/eʃ.pi.ɾa.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 84595, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

expiação is recorded at frequency rank #38,273, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐjʃ.pjɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. expiração is at rank #46,322, tagged as anoun, pronounced /eʃ.pi.ɾa.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 84595, this pair ranks #769 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of expiação vs expiração

Shared letters: aeiopxãç. Private to "expiação": -. Private to "expiração": r.

"expiação" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVV  ·  "expiração" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "expiação" and "expiração" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ɐjʃ.pjɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /eʃ.pi.ɾa.ˈsɐ̃w/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "expiação" vs "expiração" - which ranks higher?
"expiação" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,273 in our Portuguese list, against #46,322 for "expiração". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "expiação" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "expiração" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #769 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "expiação" and "expiração" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expiação vs exumação". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #769 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list