pintavsponteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#11,325
“pinta” frequency rank
#1,859
“ponte” frequency rank
13184
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pinta ponte
Definition mancha de pequeno tamanho; nódoa, sarda, sinal construção que liga dois locais separados por superfície líquida ou por depressão

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pinta and ponte apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
pinta
5 ch
ponte

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pinta (/ˈpĩ.tɐ/) and ponte (/ˈpõw.tʃi/) 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 13184, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pinta is recorded at frequency rank #11,325, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpĩ.tɐ/. ponte is at rank #1,859, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpõw.tʃi/.

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 13184, this pair ranks #59,258 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pinta vs ponte

Shared letters: npt. Private to "pinta": ai. Private to "ponte": eo.

"pinta" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "ponte" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pintaipnta · pinat · pinnta · pintta · pitna · pnita · ppinta
  • ponteopnte · pnote · ponet · ponnte · pontte · potne · pponte

Frequency comparison

pinta#11,325
ponte#1,859

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pinta" and "ponte" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpĩ.tɐ/ versus /ˈpõw.tʃi/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "pinta" or "ponte"?
"ponte" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,859 in our Portuguese list, against #11,325 for "pinta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pinta vs ponte

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 “pinta” 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