ração vs rata, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#15,189
“ração” frequency rank: #25,790
“rata” frequency rank: 40979
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ração	rata
Definition	porção fixa de provisões, especialmente para soldados e marinheiros ou para civis em tempos de escassez	fêmea do rato; ratazana

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ração and rata apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

ração

4 ch

rata

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

ração and rata are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40979, 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/. rata is at rank #25,790, tagged as anoun.

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 40979, this pair ranks #25,036 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ração vs rata

Shared letters: ar. Private to "ração": oãç. Private to "rata": t.

"ração" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "rata" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

rata ← arta · raat · ratta · rrata · rtaa

Frequency comparison

ração#15,189

rata#25,790

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ração" and "rata" be used interchangeably?

No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Which is more common, "ração" or "rata"?

"ração" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,189 in our Portuguese list, against #25,790 for "rata". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ração vs rata

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