Which to use
“João” and “José” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #41,851
- “João” frequency rank
- #5,575
- “José” frequency rank
- 47426
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | João | José |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Prénom masculin portugais. | Prénom masculin. |
Where the eye mixes João and José
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. João (CVVV) and José (CVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: João vs José
A purely visual mix-up. João (\ʒo.ɑ̃\) and José (\ʒo.ze\) 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 47426, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
João is recorded at frequency rank #41,851, classified as aname, pronounced \ʒo.ɑ̃\. José is at rank #5,575, tagged as aname, pronounced \ʒo.ze\.
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 47426, this pair ranks #187,049 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of João vs José
Shared letters: jo. Private to "João": ã. Private to "José": sé.
"João" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "José" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "João" for "José" ever safe?
Which is more common, "João" or "José"?
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 "João" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "José" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #187,049 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "João" and "José" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "João vs jor". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #187,049 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.