Which to use
“pente” and “ponta” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,363
- “pente” frequency rank
- #2,342
- “ponta” frequency rank
- 18705
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pente | ponta |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | objeto usado para pentear o cabelo | extremidade, bico |
Where the eye mixes pente and ponta
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between pente and ponta
A purely visual mix-up. pente (/ˈpẽ.tɨ/) and ponta (/ˈpõ.tɐ/) 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 18705, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pente is recorded at frequency rank #16,363, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpẽ.tɨ/. ponta is at rank #2,342, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpõ.tɐ/.
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 18705, this pair ranks #52,207 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pente vs ponta
Shared letters: npt. Private to "pente": e. Private to "ponta": ao.
"pente" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "ponta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "pente" for "ponta" ever safe?
Frequency check: "pente" vs "ponta" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "pente" and "ponta" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "pente" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ponta" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,207 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pente" and "ponta" 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 #52,207 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.