graxavsgruaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#36,045
“graxa” frequency rank
#47,917
“grua” frequency rank
83962
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature graxa grua
Definition mistura de corantes com gordura para dar lustro ao cabedal aparelho usado para levantar pesos

Where the eye mixes graxa and grua

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. graxa runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against grua's 4 (CCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

5 ch
graxa
4 ch
grua

Look-alike desk: graxa vs grua

A purely visual mix-up. graxa (/ˈɡɾa.ʃɐ/) and grua (/ˈɡɾu.ɐ/) 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 83962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

graxa is recorded at frequency rank #36,045, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡɾa.ʃɐ/. grua is at rank #47,917, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡɾu.ɐ/.

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 83962, this pair ranks #857 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of graxa vs grua

Shared letters: agr. Private to "graxa": x. Private to "grua": u.

"graxa" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "grua" · 4 letters · shape CCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • graxa ← garxa · ggraxa · graax · graxxa · grraxa · grxaa · rgaxa
  • grua ← ggrua · grrua · gura · rgua

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "graxa" for "grua" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈɡɾa.ʃɐ/ versus /ˈɡɾu.ɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "graxa" or "grua" show up more?
"graxa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #36,045 in our Portuguese list, against #47,917 for "grua". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "graxa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "grua" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #857 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "graxa" and "grua" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grip 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 #857 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