espécie vs espécime, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“espécie” and “espécime” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,334
“espécie” frequency rank: #27,471
“espécime” frequency rank: 28805
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	espécie	espécime
Definition	divisão do gênero ou do sub-gênero	representante de uma espécie, de um gênero etc

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch

espécie

8 ch

espécime

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. espécie (/iʃ.ˈpɛ.sji/) and espécime (/iʃ.ˈpɛ.si.mɨ/) 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 28805, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

espécie is recorded at frequency rank #1,334, classified as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈpɛ.sji/. espécime is at rank #27,471, tagged as anoun, pronounced /iʃ.ˈpɛ.si.mɨ/.

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 28805, this pair ranks #39,973 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of espécie vs espécime

Shared letters: ceipsé. Private to "espécie": -. Private to "espécime": m.

"espécie" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVV · "espécime" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV

Frequency comparison

espécie#1,334

espécime#27,471

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "espécie" and "espécime" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/iʃ.ˈpɛ.sji/ versus /iʃ.ˈpɛ.si.mɨ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "espécie" or "espécime"?

"espécie" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,334 in our Portuguese list, against #27,471 for "espécime". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering espécie vs espécime

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “espécie” entry
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