fechadovsfechoConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#2,724
“fechado” frequency rank
#9,190
“fecho” frequency rank
11914
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fechado fecho
Definition seguro com a lingueta da fechadura corrida qualquer objeto com que se fecha alguma coisa

Where the eye mixes fechado and fecho

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
fechado
5 ch
fecho

Why the eye confuses fechado with fecho

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fechado is /fɨ.ˈʃa.du/ while fecho is /ˈfɐj.ʃu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11914, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fechado is recorded at frequency rank #2,724, classified as anadj, pronounced /fɨ.ˈʃa.du/. fecho is at rank #9,190, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɐj.ʃu/.

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 11914, this pair ranks #60,821 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fechado vs fecho

Shared letters: cefho. Private to "fechado": ad. Private to "fecho": -.

"fechado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV  ·  "fecho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fechadoefchado · fcehado · fecahdo · fecchado · fechaddo · fechaod · fechdao · fechhado
  • fechoefcho · fceho · feccho · fechho · fecoh · fehco · ffecho

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fechado" and "fecho" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fechado" is an adjective and "fecho" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "fechado" vs "fecho" - which ranks higher?
"fechado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,724 in our Portuguese list, against #9,190 for "fecho". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fechado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fecho" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #60,821 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fechado" and "fecho" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fecho vs feição". 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 #60,821 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list