Which to use
“blau” and “bleu” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,501
- “blau” frequency rank
- #33,298
- “bleu” frequency rank
- 72799
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | blau | bleu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | azul | azul |
Where the eye mixes blau and bleu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses blau with bleu
A purely visual mix-up. blau (/blaʊ̯/ ouvir^(fonte ?)) and bleu (/blø/) 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 a single letter - a in “blau” becomes e in “bleu”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72799, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
blau is recorded at frequency rank #39,501, classified as anadj, pronounced /blaʊ̯/ ouvir^(fonte ?). bleu is at rank #33,298, tagged as anadj, pronounced /blø/.
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 72799, this pair ranks #2,946 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of blau vs bleu
Shared letters: blu. Private to "blau": a. Private to "bleu": e.
"blau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "bleu" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "blau" and "bleu" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "blau" or "bleu"?
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 "blau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "bleu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #2,946 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "blau" and "bleu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "baús vs blau". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #2,946 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.