falhovsfalirWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: falho is a adjective, falir is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“falho” is an adjective and “falir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,663
“falho” frequency rank
#27,479
“falir” frequency rank
51142
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature falho falir
Definition que tem falha ir à falência, não ter como cumprir com suas obrigações financeiras

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set falho and falir apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
falho
5 ch
falir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: falho is anadjective and faliraverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51142, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

falho is recorded at frequency rank #23,663, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈfa.ʎu/. falir is at rank #27,479, tagged as averb.

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 51142, this pair ranks #13,853 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of falho vs falir

Shared letters: afl. Private to "falho": ho. Private to "falir": ir.

"falho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "falir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • falhoaflho · fahlo · falhho · fallho · faloh · ffalho · flaho
  • faliraflir · failr · falirr · fallir · falri · ffalir · flair

Frequency comparison

falho#23,663
falir#27,479

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "falho" and "falir" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "falho" is an adjective and "falir" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "falho" or "falir"?
"falho" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,663 in our Portuguese list, against #27,479 for "falir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering falho vs falir

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “falho”; for a verb, it's “falir”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “falho” 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