Which to use
“feio” is an adjective and “ferir” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,727
- “feio” frequency rank
- #10,191
- “ferir” frequency rank
- 14918
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feio | ferir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | não estético, horrendo | causar ferimento a |
Where the eye mixes feio and ferir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between feio and ferir
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feio is /ˈfɐj.u/ while ferir is /fɨ.ˈɾiɾ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14918, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
feio is recorded at frequency rank #4,727, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈfɐj.u/. ferir is at rank #10,191, tagged as averb, pronounced /fɨ.ˈɾiɾ/.
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 14918, this pair ranks #57,053 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of feio vs ferir
Shared letters: efi. Private to "feio": o. Private to "ferir": r.
"feio" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "ferir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "feio" and "ferir" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "feio" or "ferir" show up more?
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 "feio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ferir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,053 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feio" and "ferir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ferir vs fern". 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 #57,053 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.