Which to use
“polícia” and “policy” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #357
- “polícia” frequency rank
- #21,269
- “policy” frequency rank
- 21626
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | polícia | policy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | corporação cujo objetivo é manter a ordem pública e garantir o cumprimento da lei | política, programa |
Letter map: polícia vs policy
Shared letters muted; letters that set polícia and policy apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. polícia runs 7 letters (CVCVCVV) against policy's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Corpus notes: polícia and policy
polícia and policy are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
polícia is recorded at frequency rank #357, classified as anoun, pronounced /pu.ˈli.sjɐ/. policy is at rank #21,269, tagged as anoun.
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 21626, this pair ranks #48,586 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of polícia vs policy
Shared letters: cilop. Private to "polícia": aí. Private to "policy": y.
"polícia" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "policy" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- policy ← oplicy · ploicy · poilcy · polciy · policcy · policyy · poliyc · pollicy
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "polícia" and "policy" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "polícia" or "policy"?
After this comparison
Pair "polícia" vs "policy" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "polícia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "policy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #48,586 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "polícia" and "policy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "polaca vs policy". 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 #48,586 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.