décimo vs decisão, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#9,044
“décimo” frequency rank: #669
“decisão” frequency rank: 9713
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	décimo	decisão
Definition	refere-se àquele que ocupa a posição dez em uma série; o que vem depois do nono	ação ou resultado de decidir

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set décimo and decisão apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch

décimo

7 ch

decisão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: décimo is /ˈdɛ.si.mu/ while decisão is /dɨ.si.ˈzɐ̃w̃/. 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 9713, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

décimo is recorded at frequency rank #9,044, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈdɛ.si.mu/. decisão is at rank #669, tagged as anoun, pronounced /dɨ.si.ˈzɐ̃w̃/.

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 9713, this pair ranks #63,629 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of décimo vs decisão

Shared letters: cdio. Private to "décimo": mé. Private to "decisão": esã.

"décimo" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "decisão" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

décimo#9,044

decisão#669

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "décimo" and "decisão" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "décimo" is an adjective and "decisão" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "décimo" or "decisão"?

"decisão" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #669 in our Portuguese list, against #9,044 for "décimo". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering décimo vs decisão

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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