Which to use
“ração” is a noun and “ranço” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #15,189
- “ração” frequency rank
- #36,613
- “ranço” frequency rank
- 51802
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ração | ranço |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | porção fixa de provisões, especialmente para soldados e marinheiros ou para civis em tempos de escassez | aquela comida ou gordura que em contato com o ar tornou de sabor acre |
Where the eye mixes ração and ranço
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. ração (CVCVV) and ranço (CVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses ração with ranço
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ração is /Rɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ while ranço is /ˈRɐ̃.su/. 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 adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51802, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ração is recorded at frequency rank #15,189, classified as anoun, pronounced /Rɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. ranço is at rank #36,613, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈRɐ̃.su/.
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 51802, this pair ranks #13,299 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ração vs ranço
Shared letters: aorç. Private to "ração": ã. Private to "ranço": n.
"ração" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "ranço" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ração" and "ranço" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "ração" or "ranço"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "ração" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ranço" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,299 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ração" and "ranço" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ranço vs ratio". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #13,299 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.