quentevsquintoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,586
“quente” frequency rank
#4,587
“quinto” frequency rank
6173
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature quente quinto
Definition que tem a temperatura alta ordem de um elemento em um conjunto, que ocupe a posição equivalente ao número cinco.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
quente
6 ch
quinto

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. quente (/ˈkẽ.tɨ/) and quinto (/ˈkĩ.tu/) 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 6173, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

quente is recorded at frequency rank #1,586, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈkẽ.tɨ/. quinto is at rank #4,587, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈkĩ.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 6173, this pair ranks #68,312 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of quente vs quinto

Shared letters: nqtu. Private to "quente": e. Private to "quinto": io.

"quente" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "quinto" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • quenteqeunte · qquente · quenet · quennte · quentte · quetne · qunete · uqente
  • quintoqiunto · qquinto · quinnto · quinot · quintto · quitno · qunito · uqinto

Frequency comparison

quente#1,586
quinto#4,587

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "quente" and "quinto" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈkẽ.tɨ/ versus /ˈkĩ.tu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "quente" or "quinto"?
"quente" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,586 in our Portuguese list, against #4,587 for "quinto". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering quente vs quinto

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 “quente” 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