Which to use
“idea” and “irmã” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,034
- “idea” frequency rank
- #939
- “irmã” frequency rank
- 24973
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | idea | irmã |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ideia | aquela que em relação a outrem, possui os dois pais (o mesmo pai e a mesma mãe ao mesmo tempo) em comum |
Where the eye mixes idea and irmã
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between idea and irmã
A purely visual mix-up. idea (/i.ˈðe.a/) and irmã (/iɾ.ˈmɐ̃/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24973, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
idea is recorded at frequency rank #24,034, classified as anoun, pronounced /i.ˈðe.a/. irmã is at rank #939, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iɾ.ˈmɐ̃/.
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 24973, this pair ranks #44,459 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of idea vs irmã
Shared letters: i. Private to "idea": ade. Private to "irmã": mrã.
"idea" · 4 letters · shape VCVV · "irmã" · 4 letters · shape VCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- idea ← diea · idae · iddea · ieda
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "idea" for "irmã" ever safe?
Frequency check: "idea" vs "irmã" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "idea" and "irmã" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "idea" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "irmã" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #44,459 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "idea" and "irmã" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "idea vs ina". 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 #44,459 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.