Which to use
“cedo” is an adverb and “cem” is a num - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,043
- “cedo” frequency rank
- #3,188
- “cem” frequency rank
- 4231
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cedo | cem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Antes da hora desejada ou costumeira, prematuramente; | número equivalente a dez dezenas; cardinalidade de um conjunto que contenha uma centena de elementos distintos; representado pelo símbolo 100 (algarismos arábicos) ou C (algarismos romanos) |
Where the eye mixes cedo and cem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cedo vs cem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cedo is /ˈse.du/ while cem is /ˈsɐ̃j̃/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs num), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4231, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cedo is recorded at frequency rank #1,043, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈse.du/. cem is at rank #3,188, tagged as anum, pronounced /ˈsɐ̃j̃/.
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 4231, this pair ranks #70,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cedo vs cem
Shared letters: ce. Private to "cedo": do. Private to "cem": m.
"cedo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "cem" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- cedo ← ccedo · cdeo · ceddo · ceod · ecdo
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cedo" for "cem" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cedo" or "cem"?
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 "cedo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #70,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cedo" and "cem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cedo vs cerda". 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 #70,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.