paiolvspavioConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#39,777
“paiol” frequency rank
#38,849
“pavio” frequency rank
78626
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature paiol pavio
Definition depósito de instrumentos bélicos cabo das velas, círios, candeias, mecha

Where the eye mixes paiol and pavio

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. paiol (CVVVC) and pavio (CVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

5 ch
paiol
5 ch
pavio

Visual trap between paiol and pavio

A purely visual mix-up. paiol (/paj.ˈɔɫ/) and pavio (/pɐ.ˈvi.u/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

paiol is recorded at frequency rank #39,777, classified as anoun, pronounced /paj.ˈɔɫ/. pavio is at rank #38,849, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɐ.ˈvi.u/.

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 78626, this pair ranks #1,636 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of paiol vs pavio

Shared letters: aiop. Private to "paiol": l. Private to "pavio": v.

"paiol" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC  ·  "pavio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • paiol ← apiol · pailo · paioll · paoil · piaol · ppaiol
  • pavio ← apvio · paivo · pavoi · pavvio · ppavio · pvaio

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "paiol" for "pavio" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/paj.ˈɔɫ/ versus /pɐ.ˈvi.u/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "paiol" vs "pavio" - which ranks higher?
"pavio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,849 in our Portuguese list, against #39,777 for "paiol". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "paiol" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "pavio" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,636 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "paiol" and "pavio" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "papiro vs pavio". 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 #1,636 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