Which to use
“expiração” and “explicação” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,322
- “expiração” frequency rank
- #3,076
- “explicação” frequency rank
- 49398
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | expiração | explicação |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | saída de ar dos pulmões para fora do organismo | razão (de uma coisa, de uma atitude, etc.) |
Where the eye mixes expiração and explicação
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. expiração runs 9 letters (VCCVCVCVV) against explicação's 10 (VCCCVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses expiração with explicação
A purely visual mix-up. expiração (/eʃ.pi.ɾa.ˈsɐ̃w/) and explicação (/ɐjʃ.pli.kɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 49398, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
expiração is recorded at frequency rank #46,322, classified as anoun, pronounced /eʃ.pi.ɾa.ˈsɐ̃w/. explicação is at rank #3,076, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐjʃ.pli.kɐ.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 49398, this pair ranks #15,614 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of expiração vs explicação
Shared letters: aeiopxãç. Private to "expiração": r. Private to "explicação": cl.
"expiração" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCVCVV · "explicação" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "expiração" for "explicação" ever safe?
Which is more common, "expiração" or "explicação"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "expiração" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "explicação" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,614 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "expiração" and "explicação" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expiação vs expiração". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #15,614 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.