tradição vs tráfico, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,121
“tradição” frequency rank: #4,273
“tráfico” frequency rank: 6394
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	tradição	tráfico
Definition	a passagem de crenças, lendas, costumes, informação etc de geração para geração, principalmente por via oral ou pela prática	comércio ilegal

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set tradição and tráfico apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

tradição

7 ch

tráfico

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. tradição (/tɾɐ.di.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and tráfico (/ˈtɾa.fi.ku/) 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 6394, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

tradição is recorded at frequency rank #2,121, classified as anoun, pronounced /tɾɐ.di.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. tráfico is at rank #4,273, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɾa.fi.ku/.

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 6394, this pair ranks #68,045 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of tradição vs tráfico

Shared letters: iort. Private to "tradição": adãç. Private to "tráfico": cfá.

"tradição" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVV · "tráfico" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV

Frequency comparison

tradição#2,121

tráfico#4,273

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "tradição" and "tráfico" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/tɾɐ.di.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ versus /ˈtɾa.fi.ku/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "tradição" or "tráfico"?

"tradição" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,121 in our Portuguese list, against #4,273 for "tráfico". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering tradição vs tráfico

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 “tradição” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable