naquelavsníquelWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: naquela is a contraction, níquel is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“naquela” is a contraction and “níquel” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,937
“naquela” frequency rank
#26,119
“níquel” frequency rank
28056
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature naquela níquel
Definition contração da preposição em com o pronome demonstrativo aquela elemento químico de símbolo Ni, possui o número atômico 28 e massa atômica relativa 58,693 u; é um metal de transição, de coloração metálica brilhante; é obtido principalmente dos minerais pentlandite, milerite, nicolite e gersdorfite; é muito utilizado na fabricação de aço inoxidável e em outras ligas metálicas; também é utilizado na fabricação de baterias recarregáveis, moedas e em revestimentos metálicos

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set naquela and níquel apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
naquela
6 ch
níquel

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: naquela is /naˈkɛ.la/ while níquel is /ˈni.kɛɫ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (contraction vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28056, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

naquela is recorded at frequency rank #1,937, classified as acontraction, pronounced /naˈkɛ.la/. níquel is at rank #26,119, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈni.kɛɫ/.

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 28056, this pair ranks #40,820 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of naquela vs níquel

Shared letters: elnqu. Private to "naquela": a. Private to "níquel": í.

"naquela" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV  ·  "níquel" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • naquelaanquela · naqeula · naqquela · naqueal · naquella · naqulea · nauqela · nnaquela

Frequency comparison

naquela#1,937
níquel#26,119

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "naquela" and "níquel" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "naquela" is a contraction and "níquel" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "naquela" or "níquel"?
"naquela" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,937 in our Portuguese list, against #26,119 for "níquel". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering naquela vs níquel

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a contraction, it's “naquela”; for a noun, it's “níquel”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “naquela” 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