Which to use
“paço” and “pança” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,136
- “paço” frequency rank
- #39,779
- “pança” frequency rank
- 57915
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paço | pança |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | residência oficial de um governante, monarca, soberano ou dignitário religioso | um dos estômagos dos ruminantes, o primeiro e o maior; bandulho |
Where the eye mixes paço and pança
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. paço runs 4 letters (CVCV) against pança's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between paço and pança
A purely visual mix-up. paço (/pˈasʊ/) and pança (/ˈpɐ̃.sɐ/) 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 57915, 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/. pança is at rank #39,779, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɐ̃.sɐ/.
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 57915, this pair ranks #9,057 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of paço vs pança
Shared letters: apç. Private to "paço": o. Private to "pança": n.
"paço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pança" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "paço" for "pança" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "paço" or "pança" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "paço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pança" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #9,057 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paço" and "pança" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paçoca vs pança". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #9,057 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.