Which to use
“validação” and “variação” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,187
- “validação” frequency rank
- #6,356
- “variação” frequency rank
- 30543
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | validação | variação |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou efeito de validar; validamento | mudança |
Where the eye mixes validação and variação
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. validação runs 9 letters (CVCVCVCVV) against variação's 8 (CVCVVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses validação with variação
A purely visual mix-up. validação (/vɐ.li.dɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and variação (/vɐ.ɾjɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) 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 30543, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
validação is recorded at frequency rank #24,187, classified as anoun, pronounced /vɐ.li.dɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. variação is at rank #6,356, tagged as anoun, pronounced /vɐ.ɾjɐ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.
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 30543, this pair ranks #37,770 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of validação vs variação
Shared letters: aiovãç. Private to "validação": dl. Private to "variação": r.
"validação" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVV · "variação" · 8 letters · shape CVCVVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "validação" and "variação" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "validação" or "variação" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "validação" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "variação" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #37,770 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "validação" and "variação" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vacinação vs validação". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #37,770 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.