Which to use
“tambor” and “tombo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,471
- “tambor” frequency rank
- #19,867
- “tombo” frequency rank
- 34338
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tambor | tombo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | instrumento musical do tipo membranofone, consistindo de uma membrana esticada sobre um tubo ou caixa de ressonância que pode ser de vários formatos | ato ou efeito de tombar; queda |
Where the eye mixes tambor and tombo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tambor runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against tombo's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses tambor with tombo
A purely visual mix-up. tambor (/tɐ̃.ˈboɾ/) and tombo (/ˈtõ.bu/) 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 34338, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tambor is recorded at frequency rank #14,471, classified as anoun, pronounced /tɐ̃.ˈboɾ/. tombo is at rank #19,867, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtõ.bu/.
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 34338, this pair ranks #32,962 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tambor vs tombo
Shared letters: bmot. Private to "tambor": ar. Private to "tombo": -.
"tambor" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "tombo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tambor" and "tombo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "tambor" vs "tombo" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tambor" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tombo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #32,962 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tambor" and "tombo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tampo vs tombo". 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 #32,962 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.