Which to use
“pêlo” and “pola” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,526
- “pêlo” frequency rank
- #42,156
- “pola” frequency rank
- 68682
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pêlo | pola |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vide pelo | estaca |
Where the eye mixes pêlo and pola
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. pêlo and pola 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 pêlo with pola
A purely visual mix-up. pêlo (/ˈpe.lu/) and pola (/'pɔ.la/ para o ramo da àrvore) 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 68682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pêlo is recorded at frequency rank #26,526, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpe.lu/. pola is at rank #42,156, tagged as anoun, pronounced /'pɔ.la/ para o ramo da àrvore.
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 68682, this pair ranks #4,198 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pêlo vs pola
Shared letters: lop. Private to "pêlo": ê. Private to "pola": a.
"pêlo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "pola" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- pola ← opla · ploa · poal · polla · ppola
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pêlo" for "pola" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "pêlo" or "pola" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "pêlo" and "pola" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pêlo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pola" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,198 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pêlo" and "pola" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pola vs Poland". 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 #4,198 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.