invençãovsisençãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#7,787
“invenção” frequency rank
#12,469
“isenção” frequency rank
20256
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature invenção isenção
Definition ato de inventar que isenta

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set invenção and isenção apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
invenção
7 ch
isenção

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. invenção (/ĩ.vẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and isenção (/i.zẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 20256, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

invenção is recorded at frequency rank #7,787, classified as anoun, pronounced /ĩ.vẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. isenção is at rank #12,469, tagged as anoun, pronounced /i.zẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.

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 20256, this pair ranks #50,297 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of invenção vs isenção

Shared letters: einoãç. Private to "invenção": v. Private to "isenção": s.

"invenção" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVV  ·  "isenção" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVV

Frequency comparison

invenção#7,787
isenção#12,469

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "invenção" and "isenção" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ĩ.vẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /i.zẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "invenção" or "isenção"?
"invenção" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,787 in our Portuguese list, against #12,469 for "isenção". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering invenção vs isenção

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “invenção” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list