Which to use
“refrão” and “retrato” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,377
- “refrão” frequency rank
- #4,178
- “retrato” frequency rank
- 17555
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | refrão | retrato |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | fala ou dito popular que exprime uma ideia, uma lição, etc. | imagem (de pessoa) pintada, desenhada ou fotografada |
Where the eye mixes refrão and retrato
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. refrão runs 6 letters (CVCCVV) against retrato's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between refrão and retrato
A purely visual mix-up. refrão (/ʁeˈfɾɐ̃w̃/ [heˈfɾɐ̃ʊ̯̃]) and retrato (/ʀe'tɾatʊ/) 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 17555, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
refrão is recorded at frequency rank #13,377, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʁeˈfɾɐ̃w̃/ [heˈfɾɐ̃ʊ̯̃]. retrato is at rank #4,178, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ʀe'tɾatʊ/.
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 17555, this pair ranks #53,664 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of refrão vs retrato
Shared letters: eor. Private to "refrão": fã. Private to "retrato": at.
"refrão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "retrato" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- retrato ← ertrato · rertato · retarto · retraot · retratto · retrrato · retrtao · rettrato
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "refrão" and "retrato" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "refrão" or "retrato"?
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 "refrão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "retrato" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,664 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "refrão" and "retrato" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "refração vs refrão". 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 #53,664 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.