Which to use
“confesso” and “confuso” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,800
- “confesso” frequency rank
- #6,393
- “confuso” frequency rank
- 11193
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | confesso | confuso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que fez confissão | aquilo em que os elementos não podem ser distinguidos |
Where the eye mixes confesso and confuso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. confesso runs 8 letters (CVCCVCCV) against confuso's 7 (CVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses confesso with confuso
A purely visual mix-up. confesso (/kõ.ˈfɛ.su/) and confuso (/kõ.ˈfu.zu/) 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 11193, 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/. confuso is at rank #6,393, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kõ.ˈfu.zu/.
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 11193, this pair ranks #61,721 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of confesso vs confuso
Shared letters: cfnos. Private to "confesso": e. Private to "confuso": u.
"confesso" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCCV · "confuso" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "confesso" for "confuso" ever safe?
Frequency check: "confesso" vs "confuso" - which ranks higher?
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 "confesso" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "confuso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #61,721 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "confesso" and "confuso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "confesso vs confessor". 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 #61,721 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.