Which to use
“tela” and “tutela” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,952
- “tela” frequency rank
- #14,742
- “tutela” frequency rank
- 16694
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tela | tutela |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tecido de lã, linho, seda, etc. | o ato de guardar, proteger ou guiar (pessoa menor de idade); ofício ou função do guardião ou tutor |
Where the eye mixes tela and tutela
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tela runs 4 letters (CVCV) against tutela's 6 (CVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: tela vs tutela
A purely visual mix-up. tela (/ˈtɛ.lɐ/) and tutela (/tu.ˈtɛ.lɐ/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “tela” sits inside “tutela”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16694, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tela is recorded at frequency rank #1,952, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɛ.lɐ/. tutela is at rank #14,742, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tu.ˈtɛ.lɐ/.
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 16694, this pair ranks #54,775 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tela vs tutela
Shared letters: aelt. Private to "tela": -. Private to "tutela": u.
"tela" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tutela" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tela" for "tutela" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tela" or "tutela"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "tela" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tutela" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #54,775 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tela" and "tutela" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tela vs trema". 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 #54,775 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.