pântanovsplantãoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#19,536
“pântano” frequency rank
#8,939
“plantão” frequency rank
28475
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pântano plantão
Definition extensão de terras baixas e alagadiças serviço policial, distribuído diariamente a um soldado, dentro da própria caserna, companhia ou bataria

Where the eye mixes pântano and plantão

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

7 ch
pântano
7 ch
plantão

Why the eye confuses pântano with plantão

A purely visual mix-up. pântano (/ˈpɐ̃.tɐ.nu/) and plantão (/plɐ̃.ˈtɐ̃w̃/) 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 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28475, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pântano is recorded at frequency rank #19,536, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɐ̃.tɐ.nu/. plantão is at rank #8,939, tagged as anoun, pronounced /plɐ̃.ˈtɐ̃w̃/.

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 28475, this pair ranks #40,332 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pântano vs plantão

Shared letters: anopt. Private to "pântano": â. Private to "plantão": lã.

"pântano" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "plantão" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "pântano" for "plantão" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpɐ̃.tɐ.nu/ versus /plɐ̃.ˈtɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "pântano" vs "plantão" - which ranks higher?
"plantão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,939 in our Portuguese list, against #19,536 for "pântano". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "pântano" and "plantão" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pântano" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "plantão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #40,332 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pântano" and "plantão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pântano vs panteão". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #40,332 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