roubovsroxoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: roubo is a noun, roxo is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“roubo” is a noun and “roxo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,725
“roubo” frequency rank
#8,106
“roxo” frequency rank
11831
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature roubo roxo
Definition ato ou efeito de subtrair coisa móvel alheia mediante violência ou grave ameaça a pessoa, ou depois de havê-la, por qualquer meio, reduzido à impossibilidade de resistência que tem uma cor que resulta da junção do encarnado com o azul

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set roubo and roxo apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
roubo
4 ch
roxo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

roubo and roxo form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11831, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

roubo is recorded at frequency rank #3,725, classified as anoun. roxo is at rank #8,106, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈRo.ʃu/.

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 11831, this pair ranks #60,928 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

roubo#3,725
roxo#8,106

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "roubo" and "roxo" be used interchangeably?
No, "roubo" and "roxo" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering roubo vs roxo

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “roubo”; for an adjective, it's “roxo”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “roubo” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list