fadovsfigoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#22,319
“fado” frequency rank
#32,609
“figo” frequency rank
54928
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fado figo
Definition destino figo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fado and figo apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
fado
4 ch
figo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fado (/ˈfa.du/) and figo (/ˈfi.ɡɔ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54928, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fado is recorded at frequency rank #22,319, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfa.du/. figo is at rank #32,609, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfi.ɡɔ/.

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 54928, this pair ranks #10,926 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fado vs figo

Shared letters: fo. Private to "fado": ad. Private to "figo": gi.

"fado" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "figo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fadoafdo · faddo · faod · fdao · ffado
  • figoffigo · fgio · figgo · fiog · ifgo

Frequency comparison

fado#22,319
figo#32,609

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fado" and "figo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈfa.du/ versus /ˈfi.ɡɔ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fado" or "figo"?
"fado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,319 in our Portuguese list, against #32,609 for "figo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fado vs figo

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 “fado” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list