Which to use
“poço” and “polvo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,129
- “poço” frequency rank
- #17,610
- “polvo” frequency rank
- 22739
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | poço | polvo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | buraco fundo, geralmente circular, cavado no chão, com o objetivo de encontrar água | pó, poeira |
Where the eye mixes poço and polvo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses poço with polvo
A purely visual mix-up. poço (/ˈpo.su/) and polvo (/ˈpɔl.vɔ/) 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 22739, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
poço is recorded at frequency rank #5,129, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpo.su/. polvo is at rank #17,610, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɔl.vɔ/.
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 22739, this pair ranks #47,236 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of poço vs polvo
Shared letters: op. Private to "poço": ç. Private to "polvo": lv.
"poço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "polvo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- polvo ← oplvo · plovo · pollvo · polov · polvvo · povlo · ppolvo
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "poço" and "polvo" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "poço" or "polvo" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "poço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "polvo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #47,236 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "poço" and "polvo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pilão vs polvo". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #47,236 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.