Which to use
“pato” is an adjective and “pito” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,330
- “pato” frequency rank
- #43,589
- “pito” frequency rank
- 49919
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pato | pito |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | empatado | o mesmo que pinto; franguinho |
Where the eye mixes pato and pito
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. pato and pito follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses pato with pito
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pato is /ˈpa.tʊ/ while pito is ['pi.tu]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “pato” becomes i in “pito”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49919, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pato is recorded at frequency rank #6,330, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈpa.tʊ/. pito is at rank #43,589, tagged as anoun, pronounced ['pi.tu].
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 49919, this pair ranks #15,062 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pato vs pito
Shared letters: opt. Private to "pato": a. Private to "pito": i.
"pato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pito" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pato" for "pito" ever safe?
Which is more common, "pato" or "pito"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pato" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pito" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,062 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pato" and "pito" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pito vs pix". 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 #15,062 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.