pilãovspiraWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#45,522
“pilão” frequency rank
#22,419
“pira” frequency rank
67941
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pilão pira
Definition mão do almofariz pira

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pilão and pira apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
pilão
4 ch
pira

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pilão (/pi.ˈlɐ̃w̃/) and pira (/'pira/.) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 67941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pilão is recorded at frequency rank #45,522, classified as anoun, pronounced /pi.ˈlɐ̃w̃/. pira is at rank #22,419, tagged as anoun, pronounced /'pira/..

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 67941, this pair ranks #4,445 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of pilão vs pira

Shared letters: ip. Private to "pilão": loã. Private to "pira": ar.

"pilão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "pira" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • piraipra · piar · pirra · ppira · pria

Frequency comparison

pilão#45,522
pira#22,419

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pilão" and "pira" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/pi.ˈlɐ̃w̃/ versus /'pira/.) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pilão" or "pira"?
"pira" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,419 in our Portuguese list, against #45,522 for "pilão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pilão vs pira

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 “pilão” 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