Which to use
“formação” and “fração” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #958
- “formação” frequency rank
- #13,520
- “fração” frequency rank
- 14478
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | formação | fração |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato, efeito ou modo de formar | ato de quebrar ou dividir uma coisa |
Where the eye mixes formação and fração
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. formação runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVV) against fração's 6 (CCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between formação and fração
A purely visual mix-up. formação (/fuɾ.mɐ.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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14478, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
formação is recorded at frequency rank #958, classified as anoun, pronounced /fuɾ.mɐ.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 14478, this pair ranks #57,584 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of formação vs fração
Shared letters: aforãç. Private to "formação": m. Private to "fração": -.
"formação" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV · "fração" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "formação" for "fração" ever safe?
Which is more common, "formação" or "fração"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "formação" 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 #57,584 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "formação" and "fração" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feição vs fração". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #57,584 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.