Which to use
“gato” is an adjective and “gota” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,273
- “gato” frequency rank
- #7,162
- “gota” frequency rank
- 9435
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | gato | gota |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bonito | fragmento globular de um líquido |
Where the eye mixes gato and gota
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: gato vs gota
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: gato is [ˈgätʊ] while gota is /ˈɡo.tɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they are an anagram pair: the same letters reordered, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9435, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
gato is recorded at frequency rank #2,273, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈgätʊ]. gota is at rank #7,162, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡo.tɐ/.
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 9435, this pair ranks #64,002 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of gato vs gota
Shared letters: agot. Private to "gato": -. Private to "gota": -.
"gato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "gota" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "gato" for "gota" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "gato" or "gota" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "gato" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gota" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #64,002 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "gato" and "gota" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "gota vs grua". 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 #64,002 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.