bomvsbugConfusable pair

Quick tell: bom is a adjective, bug is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“bom” is an adjective and “bug” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#96
“bom” frequency rank
#15,035
“bug” frequency rank
15131
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature bom bug
Definition que corresponde plenamente ao que é exigido, desejado ou esperado quanto à sua natureza, adequação, função, eficácia, funcionamento etc. (falando de ser ou coisa) chatear

Letter map: bom vs bug

Shared letters muted; letters that set bom and bug apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
bom
3 ch
bug

Role in the sentence - bom and bug

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: bom is anadjective and bugaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bom is recorded at frequency rank #96, classified as anadj. bug is at rank #15,035, tagged as averb.

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 15131, this pair ranks #56,783 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of bom vs bug

Shared letters: b. Private to "bom": mo. Private to "bug": gu.

"bom" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "bug" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "bom" and "bug" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bom" is an adjective and "bug" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "bom" or "bug"?
"bom" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #96 in our Portuguese list, against #15,035 for "bug". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pair "bom" vs "bug" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "bom" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "bug" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #56,783 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "bom" and "bug" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "bué vs bug". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #56,783 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list