relação vs relato, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“relação” and “relato” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#381
“relação” frequency rank: #4,675
“relato” frequency rank: 5056
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	relação	relato
Definition	relacionamento	ato ou efeito de relatar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set relação and relato apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

relação

6 ch

relato

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

relação and relato are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5056, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

relação is recorded at frequency rank #381, classified as anoun. relato is at rank #4,675, tagged as anoun, pronounced /Rɨ.ˈla.tu/.

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 5056, this pair ranks #69,660 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of relação vs relato

Shared letters: aelor. Private to "relação": ãç. Private to "relato": t.

"relação" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV · "relato" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

relato ← erlato · realto · relaot · relatto · rellato · reltao · rleato · rrelato

Frequency comparison

relação#381

relato#4,675

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "relação" and "relato" be used interchangeably?

No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Which is more common, "relação" or "relato"?

"relação" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #381 in our Portuguese list, against #4,675 for "relato". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering relação vs relato

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “relação” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable