fechovsfilhoConfusable pair

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

Which to use

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

#9,190
“fecho” frequency rank
#245
“filho” frequency rank
9435
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fecho filho
Definition qualquer objeto com que se fecha alguma coisa procedente, resultante

Where the eye mixes fecho and filho

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
fecho
5 ch
filho

Look-alike desk: fecho vs filho

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fecho is /ˈfɐj.ʃu/ while filho is /ˈfi.ʎu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9435, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fecho is recorded at frequency rank #9,190, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɐj.ʃu/. filho is at rank #245, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈfi.ʎu/.

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 9435, this pair ranks #64,002 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fecho vs filho

Shared letters: fho. Private to "fecho": ce. Private to "filho": il.

"fecho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "filho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fechoefcho · fceho · feccho · fechho · fecoh · fehco · ffecho
  • filhoffilho · fihlo · filhho · fillho · filoh · fliho · iflho

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "fecho" and "filho" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fecho" is a noun and "filho" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fecho" or "filho"?
"filho" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #245 in our Portuguese list, against #9,190 for "fecho". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fecho" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "filho" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #64,002 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fecho" and "filho" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filão vs filho". 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 #64,002 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