Which to use
“tração” and “trapo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,629
- “tração” frequency rank
- #40,367
- “trapo” frequency rank
- 53996
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tração | trapo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | força aplicada sobre um corpo numa direção perpendicular à sua superfície de corte e num sentido tal que provoque a sua rotura | pedaço de pano velho ou usado |
Where the eye mixes tração and trapo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tração runs 6 letters (CCVCVV) against trapo's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: tração vs trapo
A purely visual mix-up. tração (/tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and trapo (/ˈtɾa.pu/) 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 53996, 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/. trapo is at rank #40,367, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɾa.pu/.
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 53996, this pair ranks #11,634 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of tração vs trapo
Shared letters: aort. Private to "tração": ãç. Private to "trapo": p.
"tração" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV · "trapo" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- trapo ← rtapo · tarpo · traop · trappo · trpao · trrapo · ttrapo
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tração" for "trapo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "tração" vs "trapo" - 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 "tração" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "trapo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,634 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tração" and "trapo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "trapo vs travão". 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 #11,634 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.