rádiovsrançoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: rádio is a noun, ranço is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“rádio” is a noun and “ranço” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#857
“rádio” frequency rank
#36,613
“ranço” frequency rank
37470
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature rádio ranço
Definition elemento químico de símbolo Ra, possui o número atômico 88 e massa atômica relativa 226,025 u; é um metal alcalino terroso, branco prateado, altamente radioativo; ocorre em todos os minérios de urânio, e é produzido por decaimento radioativo; é utilizado na medicina para tratamento de câncer e, em laboratórios, como fonte de neutrons para análise de materiais aquela comida ou gordura que em contato com o ar tornou de sabor acre

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
rádio
5 ch
ranço

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: rádio is anoun and rançoanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37470, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

rádio is recorded at frequency rank #857, classified as anoun. 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 37470, this pair ranks #29,134 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of rádio vs ranço

Shared letters: or. Private to "rádio": diá. Private to "ranço": anç.

"rádio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "ranço" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Frequency comparison

rádio#857
ranço#36,613

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "rádio" and "ranço" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "rádio" is a noun and "ranço" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "rádio" or "ranço"?
"rádio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #857 in our Portuguese list, against #36,613 for "ranço". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering rádio vs ranço

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “rádio”; for an adjective, it's “ranço”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “rádio” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list