Which to use
“tempo” and “trapo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #84
- “tempo” frequency rank
- #40,367
- “trapo” frequency rank
- 40451
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tempo | trapo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | continuum linear não-espacial no qual os eventos se sucedem irreversivelmente | pedaço de pano velho ou usado |
Where the eye mixes tempo and trapo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. tempo (CVCCV) and trapo (CCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses tempo with trapo
A purely visual mix-up. tempo (/ˈtẽm.pʊ/) and trapo (/ˈtɾa.pu/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40451, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tempo is recorded at frequency rank #84, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtẽm.pʊ/. trapo is at rank #40,367, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɾa.pu/.
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 40451, this pair ranks #25,666 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tempo vs trapo
Shared letters: opt. Private to "tempo": em. Private to "trapo": ar.
"tempo" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "trapo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tempo" for "trapo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tempo" vs "trapo" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tempo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trapo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #25,666 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tempo" and "trapo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trapo vs travão". 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 #25,666 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.