Which to use
“toca” is a noun and “tocam” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,545
- “toca” frequency rank
- #12,154
- “tocam” frequency rank
- 14699
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | toca | tocam |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | buraco, natural ou aberto por alguns animais (roedores, aves, desdentados, etc.), usado como abrigo em árvores, solo, pedras ou outros ambientes (como a casa de troncos do castor) | terceira pessoa do plural do presente do indicativo do verbo tocar |
Where the eye mixes toca and tocam
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between toca and tocam
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: toca is /ˈtɔ.kɐ/ while tocam is /ˈtɔ.kɐ̃w̃/ [ˈtɔ.kɐ̃ʊ̯̃]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “toca” sits inside “tocam”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14699, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
toca is recorded at frequency rank #2,545, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɔ.kɐ/. tocam is at rank #12,154, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈtɔ.kɐ̃w̃/ [ˈtɔ.kɐ̃ʊ̯̃].
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 14699, this pair ranks #57,300 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of toca vs tocam
Shared letters: acot. Private to "toca": -. Private to "tocam": m.
"toca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tocam" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "toca" and "tocam" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "toca" vs "tocam" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "toca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tocam" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,300 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "toca" and "tocam" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tocam vs tosa". 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 #57,300 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.