Which to use
“valência” and “vigência” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,877
- “valência” frequency rank
- #17,943
- “vigência” frequency rank
- 37820
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | valência | vigência |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de valer | período de validade |
Where the eye mixes valência and vigência
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. valência and vigência follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: valência vs vigência
A purely visual mix-up. valência (/vɐ.ˈlẽ.sjɐ/) and vigência (/vi.ˈʒẽ.sjɐ/) 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 37820, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
valência is recorded at frequency rank #19,877, classified as anoun, pronounced /vɐ.ˈlẽ.sjɐ/. vigência is at rank #17,943, tagged as anoun, pronounced /vi.ˈʒẽ.sjɐ/.
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 37820, this pair ranks #28,747 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of valência vs vigência
Shared letters: acinvê. Private to "valência": l. Private to "vigência": g.
"valência" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV · "vigência" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "valência" and "vigência" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "valência" or "vigência" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "valência" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vigência" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #28,747 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "valência" and "vigência" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "valência vs valentia". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #28,747 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.