Which to use
“refeição” and “refração” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,468
- “refeição” frequency rank
- #47,575
- “refração” frequency rank
- 54043
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refeição | refração |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | porção de alimento consumido a certas horas do dia | mudança na direção de propagação de uma onda devido a uma mudança no meio pelo qual ela transita |
Where the eye mixes refeição and refração
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. refeição (CVCVVCVV) and refração (CVCCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: refeição vs refração
A purely visual mix-up. refeição (/χe.fej.ˈsãw/) and refração (/Rɨ.fɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 54043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refeição is recorded at frequency rank #6,468, classified as anoun, pronounced /χe.fej.ˈsãw/. refração is at rank #47,575, tagged as anoun, pronounced /Rɨ.fɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.
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 54043, this pair ranks #11,593 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of refeição vs refração
Shared letters: eforãç. Private to "refeição": i. Private to "refração": a.
"refeição" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVV · "refração" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "refeição" and "refração" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "refeição" vs "refração" - 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 "refeição" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "refração" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,593 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refeição" and "refração" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "recriação vs refração". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #11,593 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.