Which to use
“expressão” and “expression” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,611
- “expressão” frequency rank
- #45,845
- “expression” frequency rank
- 47456
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | expressão | expression |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | frase com que se exprime uma ideia | expressão |
Where the eye mixes expressão and expression
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between expressão and expression
A purely visual mix-up. expressão (/ɐjʃ.pɾɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and expression (\ɛk.spʁɛ.sjɔ̃\ ou \ɛk.spʁe.sjɔ̃\) 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 47456, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
expressão is recorded at frequency rank #1,611, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɐjʃ.pɾɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. expression is at rank #45,845, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛk.spʁɛ.sjɔ̃\ ou \ɛk.spʁe.sjɔ̃\.
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 47456, this pair ranks #17,793 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of expressão vs expression
Shared letters: eoprsx. Private to "expressão": ã. Private to "expression": in.
"expressão" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVV · "expression" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- expression ← epxression · experssion · exppression · expresion · expresison · expressino · expressionn · expressoin
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "expressão" and "expression" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "expressão" or "expression" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "expressão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "expression" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,793 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "expressão" and "expression" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expression vs expressivo". 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 #17,793 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.