teiavstelhaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,694
“teia” frequency rank
#24,173
“telha” frequency rank
39867
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature teia telha
Definition conjunto de filamentos proteicos produzidos pelas aranhas para construir abrigos e capturar presas peça de barro cozido ou de outro material (pedra, cimento-amianto, metal, vidro, plástico, madeira etc.), usado na cobertura de casas e outros edifícios

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
teia
5 ch
telha

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. teia (/ˈtɐj.ɐ/) and telha (/ˈtɐj.ʎɐ/) 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 39867, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

teia is recorded at frequency rank #15,694, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɐj.ɐ/. telha is at rank #24,173, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɐj.ʎɐ/.

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 39867, this pair ranks #26,323 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of teia vs telha

Shared letters: aet. Private to "teia": i. Private to "telha": hl.

"teia" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "telha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • teiaetia · teai · tiea · tteia
  • telhaetlha · tehla · telah · telhha · tellha · tleha · ttelha

Frequency comparison

teia#15,694
telha#24,173

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "teia" and "telha" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈtɐj.ɐ/ versus /ˈtɐj.ʎɐ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "teia" or "telha"?
"teia" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,694 in our Portuguese list, against #24,173 for "telha". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering teia vs telha

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 “teia” 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