Which to use
“polémica” is a noun and “polémico” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,948
- “polémica” frequency rank
- #45,531
- “polémico” frequency rank
- 64479
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | polémica | polémico |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | discussão nos meios de comunicação | relacionado a polémica |
Where the eye mixes polémica and polémico
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between polémica and polémico
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: polémica is /pu.ˈlɛ.mi.kɐ/ while polémico is /po.ˈle.mɪ.kʊ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “polémica” becomes o in “polémico”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 64479, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
polémica is recorded at frequency rank #18,948, classified as anoun, pronounced /pu.ˈlɛ.mi.kɐ/. polémico is at rank #45,531, tagged as anadj, pronounced /po.ˈle.mɪ.kʊ/.
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 64479, this pair ranks #5,761 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of polémica vs polémico
Shared letters: cilmopé. Private to "polémica": a. Private to "polémico": -.
"polémica" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "polémico" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "polémica" for "polémico" ever safe?
Which is more common, "polémica" or "polémico"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "polémica" and "polémico" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "polémica" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "polémico" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #5,761 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "polémica" and "polémico" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "poético vs polémico". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #5,761 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.