piãovspoçoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“pião” and “poço” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#35,727
“pião” frequency rank
#5,129
“poço” frequency rank
40856
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pião poço
Definition brinquedo que consiste em puxar uma corda enrolada a um objeto afunilado, geralmente de madeira ou plástico e com uma ponta de ferro, colocando-o em rotação no solo, mantendo-se erguido buraco fundo, geralmente circular, cavado no chão, com o objetivo de encontrar água

Letter map: pião vs poço

Shared letters muted; letters that set pião and poço apart highlighted. Shared run: 2. pião (CVVV) and poço (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

4 ch
pião
4 ch
poço

Pair insight - pião / poço

pião and poço are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40856, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pião is recorded at frequency rank #35,727, classified as anoun. poço is at rank #5,129, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpo.su/.

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 40856, this pair ranks #25,182 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pião vs poço

Shared letters: op. Private to "pião": iã. Private to "poço": ç.

"pião" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "poço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pião" and "poço" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "pião" vs "poço" - which ranks higher?
"poço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,129 in our Portuguese list, against #35,727 for "pião". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pair "pião" vs "poço" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "pião" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "poço" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #25,182 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "pião" and "poço" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pião vs pix". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #25,182 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list