falhovsfilãoWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#23,663
“falho” frequency rank
#49,976
“filão” frequency rank
73639
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature falho filão
Definition que tem falha intrusão de rochas eruptivas em fendas

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
falho
5 ch
filão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: falho is anadjective and filãoanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 73639, 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/. filão is at rank #49,976, tagged as anoun.

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 73639, this pair ranks #2,721 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of falho vs filão

Shared letters: flo. Private to "falho": ah. Private to "filão": .

"falho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "filão" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • falhoaflho · fahlo · falhho · fallho · faloh · ffalho · flaho

Frequency comparison

falho#23,663
filão#49,976

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "falho" and "filão" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "falho" is an adjective and "filão" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "falho" or "filão"?
"falho" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,663 in our Portuguese list, against #49,976 for "filão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering falho vs filão

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “falho”; for a noun, it's “filão”.
  • 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