Which to use
“fel” is a noun and “fui” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,931
- “fel” frequency rank
- #365
- “fui” frequency rank
- 43296
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fel | fui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | bile, bílis | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito simples do indicativo do verbo ir: |
Where the eye mixes fel and fui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. fel (CVC) and fui (CVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between fel and fui
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fel is /ˈfɛɫ/ while fui is /ˈfuj/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43296, 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/. fui is at rank #365, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfuj/.
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 43296, this pair ranks #22,355 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fel vs fui
Shared letters: f. Private to "fel": el. Private to "fui": iu.
"fel" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fel" and "fui" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "fel" or "fui" show up more?
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 "fel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #22,355 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fel" and "fui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fel vs fern". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #22,355 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.