tabacovstalcoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#9,113
“tabaco” frequency rank
#37,106
“talco” frequency rank
46219
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tabaco talco
Definition planta herbácea da família das Solanáceas de origem americana mineral derivado do magnésio e que se apresenta em agregados de lâminas

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tabaco and talco apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
tabaco
5 ch
talco

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. tabaco (/tɐ.ˈba.ku/) and talco (/ˈtaɫ.ku/) 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 46219, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tabaco is recorded at frequency rank #9,113, classified as anoun, pronounced /tɐ.ˈba.ku/. talco is at rank #37,106, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtaɫ.ku/.

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 46219, this pair ranks #19,124 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of tabaco vs talco

Shared letters: acot. Private to "tabaco": b. Private to "talco": l.

"tabaco" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV  ·  "talco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tabacoatbaco · taabco · tabacco · tabaoc · tabbaco · tabcao · tbaaco · ttabaco
  • talcoatlco · taclo · talcco · tallco · taloc · tlaco · ttalco

Frequency comparison

tabaco#9,113
talco#37,106

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tabaco" and "talco" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/tɐ.ˈba.ku/ versus /ˈtaɫ.ku/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tabaco" or "talco"?
"tabaco" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,113 in our Portuguese list, against #37,106 for "talco". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tabaco vs talco

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 “tabaco” 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