raçãovsratioWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,189
“ração” frequency rank
#46,527
“ratio” frequency rank
61716
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ração ratio
Definition porção fixa de provisões, especialmente para soldados e marinheiros ou para civis em tempos de escassez quociente, proporção, razão

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
ração
5 ch
ratio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ração (/Rɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and ratio (/ɻeɪ.ʃi.oʊ/) 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 61716, 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/. ratio is at rank #46,527, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɻeɪ.ʃi.oʊ/.

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 61716, this pair ranks #6,997 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ração vs ratio

Shared letters: aor. Private to "ração": ãç. Private to "ratio": it.

"ração" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "ratio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ratioartio · raito · ratoi · rattio · rratio · rtaio

Frequency comparison

ração#15,189
ratio#46,527

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ração" and "ratio" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/Rɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /ɻeɪ.ʃi.oʊ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ração" or "ratio"?
"ração" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,189 in our Portuguese list, against #46,527 for "ratio". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ração vs ratio

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list