Which to use
“pele” and “pente” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,654
- “pele” frequency rank
- #16,363
- “pente” frequency rank
- 18017
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pele | pente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tecido que reveste externamente o corpo humano e o de muitos animais; couro | objeto usado para pentear o cabelo |
Where the eye mixes pele and pente
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: pele vs pente
A purely visual mix-up. pele (/ˈpɛ.li/) and pente (/ˈpẽ.tɨ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18017, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pele is recorded at frequency rank #1,654, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɛ.li/. pente is at rank #16,363, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpẽ.tɨ/.
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 18017, this pair ranks #53,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pele vs pente
Shared letters: ep. Private to "pele": l. Private to "pente": nt.
"pele" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pente" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pele" and "pente" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "pele" or "pente" show up more?
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 "pele" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pente" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pele" and "pente" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pedinte vs pente". 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 #53,082 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.