Which to use
“feio” is an adjective and “fez” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,727
- “feio” frequency rank
- #203
- “fez” frequency rank
- 4930
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | feio | fez |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | não estético, horrendo | barrete em forma de cone truncado (usado por alguns muçulmanos) |
Where the eye mixes feio and fez
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between feio and fez
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feio is /ˈfɐj.u/ while fez is /ˈfes/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4930, 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/. fez is at rank #203, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfes/.
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 4930, this pair ranks #69,804 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of feio vs fez
Shared letters: ef. Private to "feio": io. Private to "fez": z.
"feio" · 4 letters · shape CVVV · "fez" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- feio ← efio · feoi · ffeio · fieo
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "feio" for "fez" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "feio" or "fez" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "feio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fez" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #69,804 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "feio" and "fez" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "feio 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 #69,804 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.