Which to use
“fada” is a noun and “fast” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,188
- “fada” frequency rank
- #8,052
- “fast” frequency rank
- 18240
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fada | fast |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | entidade imaginária feminina e voadora, com poderes mágicos | quase |
Where the eye mixes fada and fast
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fada and fast
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fada is /ˈfa.dɐ/ while fast is /fast/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18240, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fada is recorded at frequency rank #10,188, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfa.dɐ/. fast is at rank #8,052, tagged as anadv, pronounced /fast/.
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 18240, this pair ranks #52,797 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fada vs fast
Shared letters: af. Private to "fada": d. Private to "fast": st.
"fada" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fast" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fada" and "fast" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "fada" or "fast" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fada" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fast" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #52,797 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fada" and "fast" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fada vs fava". 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 #52,797 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.