breu

noun

The verdict

“breu” has 5 generated spelling variants in the Portuguese index at frequency #37,209. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,209
frequency rank, Portuguese
840
“B” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - sólido escuro, inflamável, obtido a partir de secreções resinosas de várias plantas, especialmente de coníferas (Pinus palustris etc.), ou da destilação do alcatrão; breu de colofônia, colofônia, c...

Corpus desk

Index PT-breu · breu · Portuguese

breu · rank #37,209 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,209
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 840
  • PHOTO-FINISH boutique

Nearest frequency peer: boutique (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pares de rank junto ao íman ortográfico “breu”

Mesma faixa de raridade: útil se um typo cair num lema vizinho

corpus weight

What this shows “breu” está entre estes pares FrequencyWords; a profundidade de typo mede-se à parte no gráfico de distância de edição.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

breu vs bué
25% similar
breu vs broa
50% similar
breu vs brio
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for breu
PropertyValue
Headwordbreu
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
Letters4
Frequency rank#37,209
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequência do íman ortográfico “breu”

A frequência vai do punhado de palavras do dia a dia (esquerda) à cauda longa quase nunca usada (direita).breucai aqui:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

O eixo é logarítmico: cada tick marca cerca de dez vezes menos frequência. Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “boutique” (#37,208), “cabala” (#37,212), “Belize” (#37,203). Entre 840 lemas com “B”, “breu” fica em #37,209. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around breu, anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,209 among 840 “B” headwords. Wiktionary lists 9 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for breu, with forms such as "bbreu", "beru", and "brreu". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "bué", "broa", "brio", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct Portuguese form is breu, spelled B-R-E-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    sólido escuro, inflamável, obtido a partir de secreções resinosas de várias plantas, especialmente de coníferas (Pinus palustris etc.), ou da destilação do alcatrão; breu de colofônia, colofônia, colofônio [O breu é usado em adesivos, vernizes, isolantes, revestimentos etc., e também em plásticos e na fabricação de papel (engomagem)]
  2. 2
    betume artificial composto de sebo, pez, resina e outros ingredientes, usado pelos calafates para dar acabamento e cobrir as costuras do tabuado do navio
  3. 3
    resina odorífera que exsuda do tronco de várias árvores da família das burseráceas; almécega, elemi, icica [Conforme a espécie e os espécimes, pode ser branca, esverdeada, amarela, avermelhada, marrom ou preta;quando seca, é quebradiça; tem vários usos domésticos e industriais, como substância medicinal ou como componente na produção de incenso, tintas, vernizes e outros impermeabilizantes]
  4. 4
    o mesmo que icica (Protium icicariba, resina)
  5. 5
    o mesmo que guapuruvu (Schizolobium parahyba)
  6. 6
    (Derivação: por analogia) escuridão ou coisa muito escura
  7. 7
    espécie de bote usado para vender frutas à tripulação dos navios mercantes
  8. 8
    (Derivação: por metonímia) o tripulante de tais botes
  9. 9
    , vinho

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how breu appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. O céu estava um breu.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • bbreu
  • beru
  • brreu
  • brue
  • rbeu

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of breu - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

bbreu1beru2brreu1brue2rbeu2
Edit distance from "breu"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 Portuguese corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "breu"?
"breu" is spelled B-R-E-U.
What does "breu" mean?
As a noun, "breu" means: sólido escuro, inflamável, obtido a partir de secreções resinosas de várias plantas, especialmente de coníferas (Pinus palustris etc.), ou da destilação do alcatrão; breu de colofônia, colofônia, c...
What words are commonly confused with "breu"?
"breu" is commonly confused with "bué", "broa", "brio". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What language does "breu" come from?
"breu" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar Portuguese words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "breu", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list