quartelvsquartzoConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#6,342
“quartel” frequency rank
#26,528
“quartzo” frequency rank
32870
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quartel quartzo
Definition conjunto de instalações onde se alojam tropas e se guarda o respectivo equipamento o mineral mais abundante do planeta, representando 12% da crosta terrestre; é formado basicamente por sílica (dióxido de silício SiO₂), que forma uma estrutura cristalina trigonal composta por tetraedros; é largamente utilizado na indústria para a fabricação dos mais diversos produtos como, vidros, abrasivos, fibras óticas, componentes eletrônicos, instrumentos óticos, cerâmicas, joias e ornamentos

Where the eye mixes quartel and quartzo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
quartel
7 ch
quartzo

Why the eye confuses quartel with quartzo

A purely visual mix-up. quartel (/kwɐɾ.ˈtɛɫ/) and quartzo (/ˈkwaɾ.tzu/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32870, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quartel is recorded at frequency rank #6,342, classified as anoun, pronounced /kwɐɾ.ˈtɛɫ/. quartzo is at rank #26,528, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈkwaɾ.tzu/.

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 32870, this pair ranks #34,807 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of quartel vs quartzo

Shared letters: aqrtu. Private to "quartel": el. Private to "quartzo": oz.

"quartel" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "quartzo" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quartelqaurtel · qquartel · quaretl · quarrtel · quartell · quartle · quarttel · quatrel
  • quartzoqaurtzo · qquartzo · quarrtzo · quartoz · quarttzo · quartzzo · quarzto · quatrzo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "quartel" and "quartzo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/kwɐɾ.ˈtɛɫ/ versus /ˈkwaɾ.tzu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "quartel" or "quartzo" show up more?
"quartel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,342 in our Portuguese list, against #26,528 for "quartzo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "quartel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "quartzo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #34,807 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "quartel" and "quartzo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "quarter vs quartzo". 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 #34,807 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list