Which to use
“fax” and “fil” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,370
- “fax” frequency rank
- #35,592
- “fil” frequency rank
- 49962
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fax | fil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | aparelho transmissor e receptor de documentos em fac-símile | fio |
Where the eye mixes fax and fil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. fax and fil follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses fax with fil
A purely visual mix-up. fax (/ˈfaks/) and fil (/fil/) 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 49962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fax is recorded at frequency rank #14,370, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfaks/. fil is at rank #35,592, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fil/.
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 49962, this pair ranks #15,009 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fax vs fil
Shared letters: f. Private to "fax": ax. Private to "fil": il.
"fax" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fil" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fax" for "fil" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "fax" or "fil" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fax" and "fil" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fax" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #15,009 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fax" and "fil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fil vs filão". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #15,009 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.