peladovspêloWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: pelado is a adjective, pêlo is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“pelado” is an adjective and “pêlo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,601
“pelado” frequency rank
#26,526
“pêlo” frequency rank
44127
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pelado pêlo
Definition sem pelo vide pelo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pelado and pêlo apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
pelado
4 ch
pêlo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pelado is /pe.ˈla.du/ while pêlo is /ˈpe.lu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44127, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pelado is recorded at frequency rank #17,601, classified as anadj, pronounced /pe.ˈla.du/. pêlo is at rank #26,526, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpe.lu/.

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 44127, this pair ranks #21,411 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pelado vs pêlo

Shared letters: lop. Private to "pelado": ade. Private to "pêlo": ê.

"pelado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "pêlo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • peladoeplado · pealdo · peladdo · pelaod · peldao · pellado · pleado · ppelado

Frequency comparison

pelado#17,601
pêlo#26,526

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pelado" and "pêlo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pelado" is an adjective and "pêlo" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pelado" or "pêlo"?
"pelado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,601 in our Portuguese list, against #26,526 for "pêlo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pelado vs pêlo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “pelado”; for a noun, it's “pêlo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pelado” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list