traçãovstradiçãoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“tração” and “tradição” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#13,629
“tração” frequency rank
#2,121
“tradição” frequency rank
15750
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tração tradição
Definition força aplicada sobre um corpo numa direção perpendicular à sua superfície de corte e num sentido tal que provoque a sua rotura a passagem de crenças, lendas, costumes, informação etc de geração para geração, principalmente por via oral ou pela prática

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tração and tradição apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
tração
8 ch
tradição

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. tração (/tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and tradição (/tɾɐ.di.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15750, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tração is recorded at frequency rank #13,629, classified as anoun, pronounced /tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. tradição is at rank #2,121, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tɾɐ.di.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.

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 15750, this pair ranks #55,998 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tração vs tradição

Shared letters: aortãç. Private to "tração": -. Private to "tradição": di.

"tração" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV  ·  "tradição" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

tração#13,629
tradição#2,121

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tração" and "tradição" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /tɾɐ.di.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "tração" or "tradição"?
"tradição" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,121 in our Portuguese list, against #13,629 for "tração". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tração vs tradição

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “tração” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list