Which to use
“pilão” and “prisão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,522
- “pilão” frequency rank
- #834
- “prisão” frequency rank
- 46356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pilão | prisão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | mão do almofariz | ato ou efeito de prender |
Where the eye mixes pilão and prisão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses pilão with prisão
A purely visual mix-up. pilão (/pi.ˈlɐ̃w̃/) and prisão (/pɾi.ˈzɐ̃w̃/) 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 46356, 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/. prisão is at rank #834, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɾi.ˈzɐ̃w̃/.
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 46356, this pair ranks #18,958 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of pilão vs prisão
Shared letters: iopã. Private to "pilão": l. Private to "prisão": rs.
"pilão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "prisão" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pilão" and "prisão" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "pilão" or "prisão" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "pilão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prisão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,958 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "pilão" and "prisão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pilão vs platô". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #18,958 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.