Which to use
“ranço” is an adjective and “razão” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #36,613
- “ranço” frequency rank
- #793
- “razão” frequency rank
- 37406
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ranço | razão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aquela comida ou gordura que em contato com o ar tornou de sabor acre | faculdade de avaliar, julgar, ponderar ideias, raciocinar, inteligir |
Where the eye mixes ranço and razão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ranço with razão
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ranço is /ˈRɐ̃.su/ while razão is /χa.ˈzãw/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37406, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ranço is recorded at frequency rank #36,613, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈRɐ̃.su/. razão is at rank #793, tagged as anoun, pronounced /χa.ˈzãw/.
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 37406, this pair ranks #29,209 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ranço vs razão
Shared letters: aor. Private to "ranço": nç. Private to "razão": zã.
"ranço" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "razão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "ranço" and "razão" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "ranço" vs "razão" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "ranço" and "razão" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ranço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "razão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #29,209 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ranço" and "razão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ranço vs ratio". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #29,209 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.