Which to use
“feição” and “fricção” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,590
- “feição” frequency rank
- #26,035
- “fricção” frequency rank
- 61625
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feição | fricção |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | figura | ato de friccionar |
Where the eye mixes feição and fricção
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. feição runs 6 letters (CVVCVV) against fricção's 7 (CCVCCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses feição with fricção
A purely visual mix-up. feição (/fɐj.ˈsɐ̃w̃/) and fricção (/fɾi.ˈksɐ̃w̃/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61625, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feição is recorded at frequency rank #35,590, classified as anoun, pronounced /fɐj.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. fricção is at rank #26,035, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɾi.ˈksɐ̃w̃/.
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 61625, this pair ranks #7,041 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of feição vs fricção
Shared letters: fioãç. Private to "feição": e. Private to "fricção": cr.
"feição" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV · "fricção" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "feição" for "fricção" ever safe?
Frequency check: "feição" vs "fricção" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "feição" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fricção" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #7,041 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feição" and "fricção" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feição vs filão". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #7,041 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.