Which to use
“penha” and “penis” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,960
- “penha” frequency rank
- #39,788
- “penis” frequency rank
- 47748
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | penha | penis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | rocha, pedra grande na superfície da terra ou do mar | pénis ^((português europeu)) ou pênis ^((português do Brasil)) |
Where the eye mixes penha and penis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. penha (CVCCV) and penis (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: penha vs penis
A purely visual mix-up. penha (/ˈpɐj.ɲɐ/) and penis (/ˈpiːnɪs/) 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 47748, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
penha is recorded at frequency rank #7,960, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɐj.ɲɐ/. penis is at rank #39,788, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpiːnɪs/.
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 47748, this pair ranks #17,487 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of penha vs penis
Shared letters: enp. Private to "penha": ah. Private to "penis": is.
"penha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "penis" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "penha" for "penis" ever safe?
Frequency check: "penha" vs "penis" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "penha" and "penis" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "penha" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "penis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #17,487 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "penha" and "penis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "penis vs pernil". 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 #17,487 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.