traçãovstrechoTell them apart

Which to use

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

#13,629
“tração” frequency rank
#3,171
“trecho” frequency rank
16800
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature tração trecho
Definition força aplicada sobre um corpo numa direção perpendicular à sua superfície de corte e num sentido tal que provoque a sua rotura espaço de tempo ou de lugar

Where the eye mixes tração and trecho

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. tração (CCVCVV) and trecho (CCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

6 ch
tração
6 ch
trecho

Look-alike desk: tração vs trecho

A purely visual mix-up. tração (/tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and trecho (/'tɾe.ʃu/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16800, 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/. trecho is at rank #3,171, tagged as anoun, pronounced /'tɾe.ʃu/.

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 16800, this pair ranks #54,644 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of tração vs trecho

Shared letters: ort. Private to "tração": aãç. Private to "trecho": ceh.

"tração" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV  ·  "trecho" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • trecho ← rtecho · tercho · trceho · treccho · trechho · trecoh · trehco · trrecho

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "tração" for "trecho" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /'tɾe.ʃu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "tração" vs "trecho" - which ranks higher?
"trecho" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,171 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.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "tração" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "trecho" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #54,644 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "tração" and "trecho" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tração 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 #54,644 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list