Which to use
“expiação” and “extinção” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #38,273
- “expiação” frequency rank
- #4,233
- “extinção” frequency rank
- 42506
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | expiação | extinção |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de expiar | ato ou efeito de extinguir(-se); eliminação total |
Where the eye mixes expiação and extinção
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. expiação (VCCVVCVV) and extinção (VCCVCCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between expiação and extinção
A purely visual mix-up. expiação (/ɐjʃ.pjɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and extinção (/ɐjʃ.tĩ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 42506, 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/. extinção is at rank #4,233, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐjʃ.tĩ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.
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 42506, this pair ranks #23,266 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of expiação vs extinção
Shared letters: eioxãç. Private to "expiação": ap. Private to "extinção": nt.
"expiação" · 8 letters · shape VCCVVCVV · "extinção" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "expiação" and "extinção" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "expiação" or "extinção" 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 "expiação" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "extinção" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #23,266 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "expiação" and "extinção" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expiação vs expiração". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #23,266 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.