passadavspousadaWhat's the difference?

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 spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set passada and pousada apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
passada
7 ch
pousada

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • passadaapssada · pasada · pasasda · passaad · passadda · passdaa · ppassada · psasada
  • pousadaopusada · posuada · pouasda · pousaad · pousadda · pousdaa · poussada · ppousada

Frequency comparison

passada#1,340
pousada#14,678

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "passada" and "pousada" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/pɐ.ˈsa.dɐ/ versus /pow.ˈza.dɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "passada" or "pousada"?
"passada" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,340 in our Portuguese list, against #14,678 for "pousada". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering passada vs pousada

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “passada” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list