Which to use
“fração” and “fricção” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,520
- “fração” frequency rank
- #26,035
- “fricção” frequency rank
- 39555
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fração | fricção |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de quebrar ou dividir uma coisa | ato de friccionar |
Where the eye mixes fração and fricção
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fração runs 6 letters (CCVCVV) against fricção's 7 (CCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fração and fricção
A purely visual mix-up. fração (/fɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and fricção (/fɾi.ˈksɐ̃w̃/) 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 39555, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fração is recorded at frequency rank #13,520, classified as anoun, pronounced /fɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. fricção is at rank #26,035, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɾi.ˈksɐ̃w̃/.
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 39555, this pair ranks #26,674 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fração vs fricção
Shared letters: forãç. Private to "fração": a. Private to "fricção": ci.
"fração" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV · "fricção" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fração" for "fricção" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "fração" or "fricção" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fração" and "fricção" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fração" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fricção" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #26,674 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fração" and "fricção" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feição vs fricção". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #26,674 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.