fendavsfénixWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“fenda” and “fénix” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#16,060
“fenda” frequency rank
#44,870
“fénix” frequency rank
60930
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fenda fénix
Definition abertura em algo rachado ave fabulosa que, queimada, renascia das próprias cinzas

Where the eye mixes fenda and fénix

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

5 ch
fenda
5 ch
fénix

Look-alike desk: fenda vs fénix

A purely visual mix-up. fenda (/ˈfẽ.dɐ/) and fénix (/ˈfɛ.niks/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60930, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fenda is recorded at frequency rank #16,060, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfẽ.dɐ/. fénix is at rank #44,870, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɛ.niks/.

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 60930, this pair ranks #7,408 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fenda vs fénix

Shared letters: fn. Private to "fenda": ade. Private to "fénix": ixé.

"fenda" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "fénix" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fendaefnda · fedna · fenad · fendda · fennda · ffenda · fneda

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fenda" for "fénix" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (/ˈfẽ.dɐ/ versus /ˈfɛ.niks/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fenda" vs "fénix" - which ranks higher?
"fenda" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,060 in our Portuguese list, against #44,870 for "fénix". 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 "fenda" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fénix" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #7,408 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fenda" and "fénix" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fénix vs feno". 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 #7,408 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