Which to use
“tração” and “trovão” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,629
- “tração” frequency rank
- #14,740
- “trovão” frequency rank
- 28369
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tração | trovão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | força aplicada sobre um corpo numa direção perpendicular à sua superfície de corte e num sentido tal que provoque a sua rotura | forte ruído provocado por descarga elétrica na atmosfera; trovoada |
Where the eye mixes tração and trovão
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. tração and trovão follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between tração and trovão
A purely visual mix-up. tração (/tɾa.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and trovão (/tɾu.ˈvɐ̃w̃/) 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 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28369, 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/. trovão is at rank #14,740, tagged as anoun, pronounced /tɾu.ˈvɐ̃w̃/.
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 28369, this pair ranks #40,447 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tração vs trovão
Shared letters: ortã. Private to "tração": aç. Private to "trovão": v.
"tração" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV · "trovão" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "tração" and "trovão" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "tração" or "trovão" show up more?
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 "trovão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #40,447 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tração" and "trovão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "travão vs trovão". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #40,447 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.