Which to use
“paço” and “paiol” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,136
- “paço” frequency rank
- #39,777
- “paiol” frequency rank
- 57913
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paço | paiol |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | residência oficial de um governante, monarca, soberano ou dignitário religioso | depósito de instrumentos bélicos |
Where the eye mixes paço and paiol
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. paço runs 4 letters (CVCV) against paiol's 5 (CVVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between paço and paiol
A purely visual mix-up. paço (/pˈasʊ/) and paiol (/paj.ˈɔɫ/) 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 57913, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
paço is recorded at frequency rank #18,136, classified as anoun, pronounced /pˈasʊ/. paiol is at rank #39,777, tagged as anoun, pronounced /paj.ˈɔɫ/.
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 57913, this pair ranks #9,059 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of paço vs paiol
Shared letters: aop. Private to "paço": ç. Private to "paiol": il.
"paço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "paiol" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- paiol ← apiol · pailo · paioll · paoil · piaol · ppaiol
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "paço" and "paiol" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "paço" or "paiol"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "paço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "paiol" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #9,059 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paço" and "paiol" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paiol vs patrol". 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 #9,059 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.