samba

/ˈsɐ̃.bɐ/

//ˈsɐ̃.bɐ// noun

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

The verdict

“samba” has 7 generated spelling variants in the Portuguese index at frequency #2,598. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,598
frequency rank, Portuguese
1,185
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - dança de roda semelhante ao batuque, com dançarinos solistas e eventual presença da umbigada, difundida em todo o Brasil com variantes coreográficas e de acompanhamento instrumental

Corpus desk

Index PT-samba · samba · Portuguese

samba · rank #2,598 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,598
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,185
  • PHOTO-FINISH romance

Nearest frequency peer: romance (-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 “samba”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “samba” 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).

samba vs soma
60% similar
samba vs suma
60% similar
samba vs same
60% similar

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

Key facts for samba
PropertyValue
Headwordsamba
LanguagePortuguese
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsɐ̃.bɐ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,598
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequência do íman ortográfico “samba”

Da esquerda para a direita: o pouco que carrega a fala diária, depois a cauda longa quase invisível.sambacai aqui:

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

A escala é logarítmica (cada marca ≈ 10× mais rara). Na mesma faixa de raridade aparecem “romance” (#2,597), “semelhante” (#2,599), “regra” (#2,594). Entre 1,185 lemas com “S”, “samba” fica em #2,598. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around samba (IPA /ˈsɐ̃.bɐ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,598 among 1,185 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for samba, with forms such as "asmba", "sabma", and "samab". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "soma", "suma", "same", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct Portuguese form is samba, spelled S-A-M-B-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    dança de roda semelhante ao batuque, com dançarinos solistas e eventual presença da umbigada, difundida em todo o Brasil com variantes coreográficas e de acompanhamento instrumental
  2. 2
    qualquer baile popular, urbano ou rural, onde geralmente predomina o samba como música; arrasta-pé
  3. 3
    gênero de canção popular de ritmo geralmente 2/4 e andamento variado, surgido a partir do início do século XX
  4. 4
    variedade de xiba (baile rural sapateado)
  5. 5
    aguardente de cana; tipo de cachaça

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • asmba
  • sabma
  • samab
  • sambba
  • sammba
  • smaba
  • ssamba

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of samba - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

asmba2sabma2samab2sambba1sammba1smaba2ssamba1
Edit distance from "samba"

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 "samba"?
"samba" is spelled S-A-M-B-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsɐ̃.bɐ/.
What does "samba" mean?
As a noun, "samba" means: dança de roda semelhante ao batuque, com dançarinos solistas e eventual presença da umbigada, difundida em todo o Brasil com variantes coreográficas e de acompanhamento instrumental
What words are commonly confused with "samba"?
"samba" is commonly confused with "soma", "suma", "same". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "samba"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "samba" is /ˈsɐ̃.bɐ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "samba" come from?
"samba" 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 "samba", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked Portuguese headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

regra#2,594larga#2,583black#2,614cento#2,620

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

causar7 variantsaçúcar7 variantspenal7 variantsapoiar7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list