Which to use
“pista” and “pistão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,903
- “pista” frequency rank
- #26,846
- “pistão” frequency rank
- 28749
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pista | pistão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | parte de um campo de aviação onde aterram e donde levantam aeronaves | peça cilíndrica normalmente feita de alumínio ou liga de alumínio, que se move longitudinalmente no interior do cilindro dos motores de explosão |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pista and pistão apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. pista (/ˈpiʃ.tɐ/) and pistão (/piʃ.ˈtɐ̃w̃/) 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 28749, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pista is recorded at frequency rank #1,903, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpiʃ.tɐ/. pistão is at rank #26,846, tagged as anoun, pronounced /piʃ.ˈtɐ̃w̃/.
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 28749, this pair ranks #40,043 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of pista vs pistão
Shared letters: ipst. Private to "pista": a. Private to "pistão": oã.
"pista" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "pistão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- pista ← ipsta · pisat · pissta · pistta · pitsa · ppista · psita
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pista" and "pistão" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "pista" or "pistão"?
Remembering pista vs pistão
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 “pista” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable