Which to use
“infância” and “instância” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,932
- “infância” frequency rank
- #8,351
- “instância” frequency rank
- 10283
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | infância | instância |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | período do desenvolvimento do ser humano, que vai do nascimento ao início da adolescência; meninice, puerícia | iminência |
Where the eye mixes infância and instância
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. infância runs 8 letters (VCCVCCVV) against instância's 9 (VCCCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses infância with instância
A purely visual mix-up. infância (/ĩ.ˈfɐ̃.sjɐ/) and instância ([ĩŋs.tɐ̃ŋ.sja], Plural: [ĩŋs.tɐ̃ŋ.sjas]) 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 10283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
infância is recorded at frequency rank #1,932, classified as anoun, pronounced /ĩ.ˈfɐ̃.sjɐ/. instância is at rank #8,351, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ĩŋs.tɐ̃ŋ.sja], Plural: [ĩŋs.tɐ̃ŋ.sjas].
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 10283, this pair ranks #62,873 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of infância vs instância
Shared letters: acinâ. Private to "infância": f. Private to "instância": st.
"infância" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV · "instância" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "infância" and "instância" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "infância" or "instância"?
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 "infância" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "instância" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,873 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "infância" and "instância" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "infâmia vs infância". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #62,873 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.