feiovsfloTell them apart

Quick tell: feio is a adjective, flo is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“feio” is an adjective and “flo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#4,727
“feio” frequency rank
#26,750
“flo” frequency rank
31477
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feio flo
Definition não estético, horrendo respirar.

Where the eye mixes feio and flo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
feio
3 ch
flo

Why the eye confuses feio with flo

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feio is /ˈfɐj.u/ while flo is /floː/. 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 31477, 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/. flo is at rank #26,750, tagged as averb, pronounced /floː/.

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 31477, this pair ranks #36,583 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of feio vs flo

Shared letters: fo. Private to "feio": ei. Private to "flo": l.

"feio" · 4 letters · shape CVVV  ·  "flo" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • feioefio · feoi · ffeio · fieo

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "feio" and "flo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "feio" is an adjective and "flo" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "feio" or "flo"?
"feio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,727 in our Portuguese list, against #26,750 for "flo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "flo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #36,583 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "feio" and "flo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filão vs flo". 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 #36,583 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