Which to use
“tímido” and “timing” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,625
- “tímido” frequency rank
- #28,394
- “timing” frequency rank
- 39019
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tímido | timing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | estado ou condição de quem tem timidez; que não tem autoconfiança | temporizador, de temporização |
Where the eye mixes tímido and timing
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. tímido (CVCVCV) and timing (CVCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses tímido with timing
A purely visual mix-up. tímido (/ˈti.mi.du/) and timing (/ˈtaɪmɪŋ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39019, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tímido is recorded at frequency rank #10,625, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈti.mi.du/. timing is at rank #28,394, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈtaɪmɪŋ/.
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 39019, this pair ranks #27,340 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tímido vs timing
Shared letters: imt. Private to "tímido": doí. Private to "timing": gn.
"tímido" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "timing" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- timing ← itming · tiimng · timign · timingg · timinng · timming · timnig · tmiing
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tímido" and "timing" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "tímido" or "timing"?
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 "tímido" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "timing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,340 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tímido" and "timing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tímido vs titio". 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 #27,340 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.