Which to use
“fair” is an adjective and “foi” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,248
- “fair” frequency rank
- #26
- “foi” frequency rank
- 12274
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fair | foi |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | justo | terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo ser |
Where the eye mixes fair and foi
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fair with foi
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fair is /fɛːɐ̯/ ouvir^(fonte ?) while foi is /ˈfoj/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12274, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fair is recorded at frequency rank #12,248, classified as anadj, pronounced /fɛːɐ̯/ ouvir^(fonte ?). foi is at rank #26, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfoj/.
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 12274, this pair ranks #60,374 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fair vs foi
Shared letters: fi. Private to "fair": ar. Private to "foi": o.
"fair" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "foi" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fair ← afir · fairr · fari · ffair · fiar
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fair" and "foi" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fair" or "foi"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "fair" and "foi" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fair" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "foi" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,374 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fair" and "foi" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fair 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 #60,374 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.