Which to use
“pensão” and “pinhão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,560
- “pensão” frequency rank
- #31,497
- “pinhão” frequency rank
- 39057
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pensão | pinhão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pagamento mensal, em um determinado prazo, onde uma pessoa paga outra | o fruto do pinheiro-manso |
Where the eye mixes pensão and pinhão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. pensão and pinhão follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses pensão with pinhão
A purely visual mix-up. pensão (/pẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and pinhão (/pi.ˈɲɐ̃w̃/) 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 39057, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pensão is recorded at frequency rank #7,560, classified as anoun, pronounced /pẽ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. pinhão is at rank #31,497, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pi.ˈɲɐ̃w̃/.
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 39057, this pair ranks #27,289 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pensão vs pinhão
Shared letters: nopã. Private to "pensão": es. Private to "pinhão": hi.
"pensão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "pinhão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "pensão" and "pinhão" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "pensão" vs "pinhão" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "pensão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pinhão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,289 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pensão" and "pinhão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pilão vs pinhão". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #27,289 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.