Which to use
“explicação” and “exploração” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,076
- “explicação” frequency rank
- #2,635
- “exploração” frequency rank
- 5711
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | explicação | exploração |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | razão (de uma coisa, de uma atitude, etc.) | ato ou efeito de explorar |
Where the eye mixes explicação and exploração
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. explicação and exploração follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCVCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses explicação with exploração
A purely visual mix-up. explicação (/ɐjʃ.pli.kɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and exploração (/ɐjʃ.plu.ɾɐ.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 5711, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
explicação is recorded at frequency rank #3,076, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐjʃ.pli.kɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. exploração is at rank #2,635, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɐjʃ.plu.ɾɐ.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 5711, this pair ranks #68,854 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of explicação vs exploração
Shared letters: aelopxãç. Private to "explicação": ci. Private to "exploração": r.
"explicação" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVV · "exploração" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "explicação" and "exploração" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "explicação" vs "exploração" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "explicação" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "exploração" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #68,854 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "explicação" and "exploração" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expiração vs explicação". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #68,854 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.