raça vs raspa, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,535
“raça” frequency rank: #36,189
“raspa” frequency rank: 38724
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	raça	raspa
Definition	conjunto de indivíduos que conservam, entre si, caracteres somáticos semelhantes; estas características são transmitidas por hereditariedade	a parte que é retirada de uma superfície que se raspa; apara, lasca

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set raça and raspa apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch

raça

5 ch

raspa

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. raça (/ˈRa.sɐ/) and raspa (/ˈRaʃ.pɐ/) 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 38724, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

raça is recorded at frequency rank #2,535, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈRa.sɐ/. raspa is at rank #36,189, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈRaʃ.pɐ/.

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 38724, this pair ranks #27,671 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of raça vs raspa

Shared letters: ar. Private to "raça": ç. Private to "raspa": ps.

"raça" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "raspa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

raspa ← arspa · rapsa · rasap · rasppa · rasspa · rraspa · rsapa

Frequency comparison

raça#2,535

raspa#36,189

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "raça" and "raspa" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈRa.sɐ/ versus /ˈRaʃ.pɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "raça" or "raspa"?

"raça" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,535 in our Portuguese list, against #36,189 for "raspa". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering raça vs raspa

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