Which to use
“guia” and “gula” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,053
- “guia” frequency rank
- #35,619
- “gula” frequency rank
- 37672
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | guia | gula |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de guiar | desejo excessivo de comer |
Where the eye mixes guia and gula
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. guia (CVVV) and gula (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses guia with gula
A purely visual mix-up. guia (/ˈɡi.ɐ/) and gula (/ˈɡu.lɐ/) 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 a single letter - i in “guia” becomes l in “gula”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37672, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
guia is recorded at frequency rank #2,053, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡi.ɐ/. gula is at rank #35,619, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡu.lɐ/.
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 37672, this pair ranks #28,895 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of guia vs gula
Shared letters: agu. Private to "guia": i. Private to "gula": l.
"guia" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "gula" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "guia" for "gula" ever safe?
Which is more common, "guia" or "gula"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "guia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "gula" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #28,895 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "guia" and "gula" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "grua vs gula". 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 #28,895 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.