Which to use
“sílica” and “silício” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,250
- “sílica” frequency rank
- #17,640
- “silício” frequency rank
- 53890
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sílica | silício |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | composto conhecido como dióxido de silício (SiO₂), encontrado em areias e silicatos, é empregado na fabricação de vidros | elemento químico de símbolo Si, possui o número atômico 14 e massa atômica relativa 28,086; é o segundo elemento mais abundante da terra, é encontrado na argila, no granito no quartzo e na areia; é o principal elemento do vidro, cimento, cerâmica e da maioria dos componentes semicondutores eletrônicos |
Where the eye mixes sílica and silício
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sílica vs silício
A purely visual mix-up. sílica (/ˈsi.li.kɐ/) and silício (/siˈłisju/) 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 53890, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sílica is recorded at frequency rank #36,250, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈsi.li.kɐ/. silício is at rank #17,640, tagged as anoun, pronounced /siˈłisju/.
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 53890, this pair ranks #11,699 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of sílica vs silício
Shared letters: cilsí. Private to "sílica": a. Private to "silício": o.
"sílica" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "silício" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "sílica" and "silício" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "sílica" vs "silício" - 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 "sílica" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "silício" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,699 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sílica" and "silício" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sílica vs súplica". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #11,699 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.