Which to use
“blau” and “blu” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,501
- “blau” frequency rank
- #15,516
- “blu” frequency rank
- 55017
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | blau | blu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | azul | azul |
Where the eye mixes blau and blu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses blau with blu
A purely visual mix-up. blau (/blaʊ̯/ ouvir^(fonte ?)) and blu (/blu/ ouvir^(fonte ?)) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55017, 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 ?). blu is at rank #15,516, tagged as anadj, pronounced /blu/ ouvir^(fonte ?).
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 55017, this pair ranks #10,866 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of blau vs blu
Shared letters: blu. Private to "blau": a. Private to "blu": -.
"blau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "blu" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- blau ← balu · bblau · bllau · lbau
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "blau" and "blu" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "blau" or "blu" show up more?
Useful next steps
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 "blu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #10,866 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "blau" and "blu" 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 #10,866 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.