fou

/fu/

//fu// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“fou” is uncommon Portuguese (frequency #59,753 among 853 “F” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,753
frequency rank, Portuguese
853
“F” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - louco, maluco, doido, insano

Corpus desk

Index PT-fou · fou · Portuguese

fou · rank #59,753 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,753
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 853
  • PHOTO-FINISH filó

Nearest frequency peer: filó (-4 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.

Ranks da cauda longa perto de “fou”

Faixa escassa: as barras invertem o rank para o raro ler-se mais curto

corpus weight

What this shows Vista da cauda longa: onde “fou” se situa face a ranks portugueses igualmente raros.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for fou
PropertyValue
Headwordfou
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/fu/
Letters3
Frequency rank#59,753
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cauda longa: rank de “fou” em português

Esta escala corre do núcleo do português quotidiano (esquerda) até o rastro de formas raras (direita).foucai nesta cauda de raridade:

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

A escala é logarítmica (cada marca ≈ 10× mais rara). Vizinhos raros da mesma faixa: “filó” (#59,749), “fiabilidade” (#59,747), “farmacológico” (#59,739). Entre 853 lemas com “F”, “fou” fica em #59,753. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

fou is uncommon Portuguese at frequency #59,753 among 853 “F” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /fu/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for fou, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct Portuguese form is fou, spelled F-O-U.

Definition

  1. 1
    louco, maluco, doido, insano
  2. 2
    louco, apaixonado:
  3. 3
    absurdo, insensato:
  4. 4
    extravagante, bizarro:
  5. 5
    tremendo, exagerado, gigantesco, enorme:

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Je suis fou du Wiktionnaire.
  2. Ce serait fou de dépenser encore plus.

Synonyms

folaliénébarjotchtarbécinglédémentdétraquédérangédéséquilibrédinguefrappadinguegivrégogoljobardbarjomaboulnévropathenévroséoufperturbépsychasthéniquepsychopathepsychotiquetarétcharbéaccroamoureuxpassionnéaberrantabsurdedéraisonnableinsenséstupidebizarreextravagantfantasquesurprenantdémesuréénormeexagéré

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 "fou"?
"fou" is spelled F-O-U. The IPA pronunciation is /fu/.
What does "fou" mean?
As an adjective, "fou" means: louco, maluco, doido, insano
How do you pronounce "fou"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fou" is /fu/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "fou" come from?
"fou" is a Portuguese word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "fou", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

jes#59,822aut#59,554fad#59,119bão#58,976

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list