Which to use
“ídolo” and “isola” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,585
- “ídolo” frequency rank
- #25,021
- “isola” frequency rank
- 32606
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ídolo | isola |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | figura, estátua que representa uma divindade que se adora | ilha |
Where the eye mixes ídolo and isola
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. ídolo and isola follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses ídolo with isola
A purely visual mix-up. ídolo (/ˈi.du.lu/) and isola (/ˈi.zo.la/.) 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 32606, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ídolo is recorded at frequency rank #7,585, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈi.du.lu/. isola is at rank #25,021, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈi.zo.la/..
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 32606, this pair ranks #35,155 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ídolo vs isola
Shared letters: lo. Private to "ídolo": dí. Private to "isola": ais.
"ídolo" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "isola" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- isola ← iosla · isloa · isoal · isolla · issola · siola
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ídolo" and "isola" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "ídolo" vs "isola" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ídolo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "isola" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #35,155 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ídolo" and "isola" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ídolo vs ioiô". 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 #35,155 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.