Which to use
“ralo” and “ranço” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,418
- “ralo” frequency rank
- #36,613
- “ranço” frequency rank
- 57031
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ralo | ranço |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | pouco espesso, pouco denso | aquela comida ou gordura que em contato com o ar tornou de sabor acre |
Where the eye mixes ralo and ranço
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. ralo runs 4 letters (CVCV) against ranço's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between ralo and ranço
A purely visual mix-up. ralo (/ˈRa.lu/) and ranço (/ˈRɐ̃.su/) 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 57031, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ralo is recorded at frequency rank #20,418, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈRa.lu/. 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 57031, this pair ranks #9,579 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ralo vs ranço
Shared letters: aor. Private to "ralo": l. Private to "ranço": nç.
"ralo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "ranço" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- ralo ← arlo · rallo · raol · rlao · rralo
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ralo" and "ranço" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "ralo" vs "ranço" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ralo" 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 #9,579 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ralo" and "ranço" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ranço vs ratio". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #9,579 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.