Which to use
“nação” and “natação” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,246
- “nação” frequency rank
- #7,805
- “natação” frequency rank
- 10051
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | nação | natação |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | grupo de pessoas, com um mesmo governo e localizado num determinado espaço geográfico | ato de deslocar-se sobre a água (nadar), como diversas espécies de animais |
Where the eye mixes nação and natação
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. nação runs 5 letters (CVCVV) against natação's 7 (CVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses nação with natação
A purely visual mix-up. nação (/nɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and natação (/nɐ.tɐ.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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10051, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
nação is recorded at frequency rank #2,246, classified as anoun, pronounced /nɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. natação is at rank #7,805, tagged as anoun, pronounced /nɐ.tɐ.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 10051, this pair ranks #63,170 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of nação vs natação
Shared letters: anoãç. Private to "nação": -. Private to "natação": t.
"nação" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "natação" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "nação" and "natação" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "nação" or "natação"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "nação" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "natação" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,170 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "nação" and "natação" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "nabo vs nação". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #63,170 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.