tatovstraçoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: tato is a adjective, traço is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#24,471
“tato” frequency rank
#11,759
“traço” frequency rank
36230
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tato traço
Definition gago uma marca, sinal, ou evidência da existência, influência ou ação de algum agente ou evento; vestígio

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
tato
5 ch
traço

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: tato is anadjective and traçoanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36230, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tato is recorded at frequency rank #24,471, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈta.tu/. traço is at rank #11,759, tagged as anoun.

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 36230, this pair ranks #30,638 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tato vs traço

Shared letters: aot. Private to "tato": -. Private to "traço": .

"tato" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "traço" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • tatoatto · taot · tatto · ttao · ttato

Frequency comparison

tato#24,471
traço#11,759

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tato" and "traço" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "tato" is an adjective and "traço" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "tato" or "traço"?
"traço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,759 in our Portuguese list, against #24,471 for "tato". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tato vs traço

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “tato”; for a noun, it's “traço”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tato” 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