graxavsgrutaTell them apart

Which to use

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

#36,045
“graxa” frequency rank
#17,525
“gruta” frequency rank
53570
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature graxa gruta
Definition mistura de corantes com gordura para dar lustro ao cabedal cavidade profunda numa rocha, podendo ser natural ou artificial

Where the eye mixes graxa and gruta

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. graxa and gruta follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
graxa
5 ch
gruta

Why the eye confuses graxa with gruta

A purely visual mix-up. graxa (/ˈɡɾa.ʃɐ/) and gruta (/ˈɡɾu.tɐ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53570, 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/. gruta is at rank #17,525, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡɾu.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 53570, this pair ranks #11,942 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of graxa vs gruta

Shared letters: agr. Private to "graxa": x. Private to "gruta": tu.

"graxa" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "gruta" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • graxa ← garxa · ggraxa · graax · graxxa · grraxa · grxaa · rgaxa
  • gruta ← ggruta · grruta · grtua · gruat · grutta · gurta · rguta

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "graxa" and "gruta" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈɡɾa.ʃɐ/ versus /ˈɡɾu.tɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "graxa" vs "gruta" - which ranks higher?
"gruta" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,525 in our Portuguese list, against #36,045 for "graxa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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 "gruta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #11,942 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "graxa" and "gruta" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "graxa 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 #11,942 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