Which to use
“toca” and “tom” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,545
- “toca” frequency rank
- #1,262
- “tom” frequency rank
- 3807
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | toca | tom |
|---|---|---|
| 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) | qualquer som, no que se refere à sua amplitude, fonte, potência, etc.: |
Where the eye mixes toca and tom
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: toca vs tom
A purely visual mix-up. toca (/ˈtɔ.kɐ/) and tom (/ˈtõ/) 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 3807, 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/. tom is at rank #1,262, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtõ/.
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 3807, this pair ranks #71,282 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of toca vs tom
Shared letters: ot. Private to "toca": ac. Private to "tom": m.
"toca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "tom" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- toca ← otca · tcoa · toac · tocca · ttoca
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "toca" for "tom" ever safe?
Frequency check: "toca" vs "tom" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
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 "tom" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #71,282 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "toca" and "tom" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "toca vs tónica". 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 #71,282 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.