Which to use
“passada” and “pousada” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,340
- “passada” frequency rank
- #14,678
- “pousada” frequency rank
- 16018
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | passada | pousada |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato de dar um passo | hotel modesto, em geral com poucos quartos |
Where the eye mixes passada and pousada
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. passada (CVCCVCV) and pousada (CVVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: passada vs pousada
A purely visual mix-up. passada (/pɐ.ˈsa.dɐ/) and pousada (/pow.ˈza.dɐ/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16018, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
passada is recorded at frequency rank #1,340, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɐ.ˈsa.dɐ/. pousada is at rank #14,678, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pow.ˈza.dɐ/.
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 16018, this pair ranks #55,646 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of passada vs pousada
Shared letters: adps. Private to "passada": -. Private to "pousada": ou.
"passada" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "pousada" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "passada" for "pousada" ever safe?
Frequency check: "passada" vs "pousada" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "passada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pousada" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #55,646 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "passada" and "pousada" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "passada vs pescada". 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 #55,646 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.