fixaçãovsfraçãoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“fixação” and “fração” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,084
“fixação” frequency rank
#13,520
“fração” frequency rank
26604
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fixação fração
Definition ato de fixar ato de quebrar ou dividir uma coisa

Where the eye mixes fixação and fração

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fixação runs 7 letters (CVCVCVV) against fração's 6 (CCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

7 ch
fixação
6 ch
fração

Why the eye confuses fixação with fração

A purely visual mix-up. fixação (/fi.ksɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and fração (/fɾa.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 26604, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fixação is recorded at frequency rank #13,084, classified as anoun, pronounced /fi.ksɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. fração is at rank #13,520, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɾa.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 26604, this pair ranks #42,524 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fixação vs fração

Shared letters: afoãç. Private to "fixação": ix. Private to "fração": r.

"fixação" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "fração" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fixação" for "fração" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/fi.ksɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /fɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fixação" vs "fração" - which ranks higher?
"fixação" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,084 in our Portuguese list, against #13,520 for "fração". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "fixação" and "fração" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fixação" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fração" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #42,524 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fixação" and "fração" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feição vs fração". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #42,524 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list