poluição vs posição, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#6,333
“poluição” frequency rank: #715
“posição” frequency rank: 7048
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	poluição	posição
Definition	ato ou efeito de poluir	lugar, localização no espaço

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set poluição and posição apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

poluição

7 ch

posição

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. poluição (/pu.lwi.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and posição (/pu.zi.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 7048, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

poluição is recorded at frequency rank #6,333, classified as anoun, pronounced /pu.lwi.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. posição is at rank #715, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pu.zi.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.

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 7048, this pair ranks #67,196 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of poluição vs posição

Shared letters: iopãç. Private to "poluição": lu. Private to "posição": s.

"poluição" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVV · "posição" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

poluição#6,333

posição#715

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "poluição" and "posição" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/pu.lwi.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /pu.zi.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "poluição" or "posição"?

"posição" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #715 in our Portuguese list, against #6,333 for "poluição". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering poluição vs posição

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 “poluição” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable