galinha vs gatinho, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“galinha” is an adjective and “gatinho” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,011
“galinha” frequency rank: #10,730
“gatinho” frequency rank: 15741
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	galinha	gatinho
Definition	que é promíscuo	filhote de gato

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set galinha and gatinho apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

galinha

7 ch

gatinho

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: galinha is anadjective and gatinhoanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15741, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

galinha is recorded at frequency rank #5,011, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɡɐ.ˈli.ɲɐ/. gatinho is at rank #10,730, tagged as anoun.

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 15741, this pair ranks #56,006 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of galinha vs gatinho

Shared letters: aghin. Private to "galinha": l. Private to "gatinho": ot.

"galinha" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV · "gatinho" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

galinha ← aglinha · gailnha · galihna · galinah · galinhha · galinnha · gallinha · galniha
gatinho ← agtinho · gaitnho · gatihno · gatinhho · gatinnho · gatinoh · gatniho · gattinho

Frequency comparison

galinha#5,011

gatinho#10,730

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "galinha" and "gatinho" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "galinha" is an adjective and "gatinho" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "galinha" or "gatinho"?

"galinha" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,011 in our Portuguese list, against #10,730 for "gatinho". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering galinha vs gatinho

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “galinha”; for a noun, it's “gatinho”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “galinha” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable