quadrovsquantoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: quadro is a noun, quanto is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

By · Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org ·

Which to use

“quadro” is a noun and “quanto” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,991
“quadro” frequency rank
#216
“quanto” frequency rank
2207
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quadro quanto
Definition espaço limitado por quatro lados iguais; quadrado; caixilho qual quantidade, qual valor

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set quadro and quanto apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
quadro
6 ch
quanto

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: quadro is /ˈkwa.dɾu/ while quanto is /ˈkwɐ̃.tu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2207, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quadro is recorded at frequency rank #1,991, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkwa.dɾu/. quanto is at rank #216, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈkwɐ̃.tu/.

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 2207, this pair ranks #73,252 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quadro vs quanto

Shared letters: aoqu. Private to "quadro": dr. Private to "quanto": nt.

"quadro" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "quanto" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quadro ← qaudro · qquadro · quaddro · quador · quadrro · quardo · qudaro · uqadro
  • quanto ← qaunto · qquanto · quannto · quanot · quantto · quatno · qunato · uqanto

Frequency comparison

quadro#1,991
quanto#216

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quadro" and "quanto" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "quadro" is a noun and "quanto" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "quadro" or "quanto"?
"quanto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #216 in our Portuguese list, against #1,991 for "quadro". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quadro vs quanto

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “quadro”; for a pronoun, it's “quanto”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “quadro” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list