confessovsconfissãoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: confesso is a adjective, confissão is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“confesso” is an adjective and “confissão” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,800
“confesso” frequency rank
#8,869
“confissão” frequency rank
13669
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature confesso confissão
Definition que fez confissão profissão de fé

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set confesso and confissão apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
confesso
9 ch
confissão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: confesso is /kõ.ˈfɛ.su/ while confissão is /kõ.fi.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13669, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

confesso is recorded at frequency rank #4,800, classified as anadj, pronounced /kõ.ˈfɛ.su/. confissão is at rank #8,869, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kõ.fi.ˈsɐ̃w̃/.

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 13669, this pair ranks #58,607 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of confesso vs confissão

Shared letters: cfnos. Private to "confesso": e. Private to "confissão": .

"confesso" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV  ·  "confissão" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • confessocconfesso · cnofesso · cofnesso · conefsso · confeso · confesos · conffesso · confseso

Frequency comparison

confesso#4,800
confissão#8,869

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "confesso" and "confissão" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "confesso" is an adjective and "confissão" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "confesso" or "confissão"?
"confesso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,800 in our Portuguese list, against #8,869 for "confissão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering confesso vs confissão

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “confesso”; for a noun, it's “confissão”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “confesso” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list