Which to use
“fel” and “fila” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #42,931
- “fel” frequency rank
- #3,079
- “fila” frequency rank
- 46010
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fel | fila |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bile, bílis | sequência de pessoas ou coisas dispostas de forma organizada, em linha; enfiada |
Where the eye mixes fel and fila
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fel runs 3 letters (CVC) against fila's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fel with fila
A purely visual mix-up. fel (/ˈfɛɫ/) and fila (/ˈfi.lɐ/) 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 46010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fel is recorded at frequency rank #42,931, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɛɫ/. fila is at rank #3,079, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfi.lɐ/.
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 46010, this pair ranks #19,356 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fel vs fila
Shared letters: fl. Private to "fel": e. Private to "fila": ai.
"fel" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fila" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fila ← ffila · fial · filla · flia · ifla
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fel" and "fila" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "fel" or "fila"?
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 "fel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fila" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #19,356 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fel" and "fila" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fel 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 #19,356 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.