Which to use
“fármaco” is a noun and “fraco” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,859
- “fármaco” frequency rank
- #3,401
- “fraco” frequency rank
- 37260
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fármaco | fraco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | substância utilizada para sanar uma doença ou atenuar seus efeitos | sem força |
Where the eye mixes fármaco and fraco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fármaco runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against fraco's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fármaco and fraco
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fármaco is /ˈfaɾ.mɐ.ku/ while fraco is /ˈfɾa.ku/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37260, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fármaco is recorded at frequency rank #33,859, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfaɾ.mɐ.ku/. fraco is at rank #3,401, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈfɾa.ku/.
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 37260, this pair ranks #29,401 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fármaco vs fraco
Shared letters: acfor. Private to "fármaco": má. Private to "fraco": -.
"fármaco" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "fraco" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fraco ← farco · ffraco · fracco · fraoc · frcao · frraco · rfaco
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fármaco" for "fraco" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fármaco" vs "fraco" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fármaco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fraco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,401 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fármaco" and "fraco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fosco vs fraco". 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 #29,401 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.