picadavspijamaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#14,207
“picada” frequency rank
#12,518
“pijama” frequency rank
26725
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature picada pijama
Definition golpe dado com pico vestuário para dormir

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set picada and pijama apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
picada
6 ch
pijama

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. picada (/pi.ˈka.dɐ/) and pijama (/pi.ˈʒɐ.mɐ/) 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 26725, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

picada is recorded at frequency rank #14,207, classified as anoun, pronounced /pi.ˈka.dɐ/. pijama is at rank #12,518, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pi.ˈʒɐ.mɐ/.

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 26725, this pair ranks #42,368 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of picada vs pijama

Shared letters: aip. Private to "picada": cd. Private to "pijama": jm.

"picada" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "pijama" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • picadaipcada · pciada · piacda · picaad · picadda · piccada · picdaa · ppicada
  • pijamaipjama · piajma · pijaam · pijamma · pijjama · pijmaa · pjiama · ppijama

Frequency comparison

picada#14,207
pijama#12,518

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "picada" and "pijama" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/pi.ˈka.dɐ/ versus /pi.ˈʒɐ.mɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "picada" or "pijama"?
"pijama" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,518 in our Portuguese list, against #14,207 for "picada". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering picada vs pijama

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “picada” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list