Which to use
“tóxico” is an adjective and “toxina” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,631
- “tóxico” frequency rank
- #26,226
- “toxina” frequency rank
- 39857
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tóxico | toxina |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que envenena | substância produzida por um ser vivo que é tóxica a outro ser vivo (ou estimula a produção de anticorpos) de outra espécie. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tóxico and toxina apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
tóxico and toxina form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39857, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tóxico is recorded at frequency rank #13,631, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈtɔ.ksi.ku/. toxina is at rank #26,226, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tɔ.ˈksi.nɐ/.
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 39857, this pair ranks #26,337 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "tóxico" and "toxina" be used interchangeably?
Remembering tóxico vs toxina
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “tóxico”; for a noun, it's “toxina”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tóxico” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable