Which to use
“extensão” and “extinção” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,422
- “extensão” frequency rank
- #4,233
- “extinção” frequency rank
- 6655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | extensão | extinção |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de estender-se | ato ou efeito de extinguir(-se); eliminação total |
Where the eye mixes extensão and extinção
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. extensão and extinção follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses extensão with extinção
A purely visual mix-up. extensão (/es.tẽj.ˈsãw/) 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 6655, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
extensão is recorded at frequency rank #2,422, classified as anoun, pronounced /es.tẽj.ˈsãw/. 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 6655, this pair ranks #67,740 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of extensão vs extinção
Shared letters: enotxã. Private to "extensão": s. Private to "extinção": iç.
"extensão" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV · "extinção" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "extensão" for "extinção" ever safe?
Which is more common, "extensão" or "extinção"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "extensão" and "extinção" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "extensão" 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 #67,740 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "extensão" and "extinção" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expensas vs extensão". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #67,740 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.