paçovspiãoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#18,136
“paço” frequency rank
#35,727
“pião” frequency rank
53863
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature paço pião
Definition residência oficial de um governante, monarca, soberano ou dignitário religioso brinquedo que consiste em puxar uma corda enrolada a um objeto afunilado, geralmente de madeira ou plástico e com uma ponta de ferro, colocando-o em rotação no solo, mantendo-se erguido

Letter map: paço vs pião

Shared letters muted; letters that set paço and pião apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. paço (CVCV) and pião (CVVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
paço
4 ch
pião

Pair insight - paço / pião

paço and pião are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 53863, 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/. pião is at rank #35,727, tagged as anoun.

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 53863, this pair ranks #11,723 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of paço vs pião

Shared letters: op. Private to "paço": aç. Private to "pião": iã.

"paço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "pião" · 4 letters · shape CVVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "paço" for "pião" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "paço" vs "pião" - which ranks higher?
"paço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,136 in our Portuguese list, against #35,727 for "pião". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "paço" and "pião". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "paço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pião" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #11,723 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "paço" and "pião" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pião vs pix". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #11,723 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list