feras vs ferir, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#21,182
“feras” frequency rank: #10,191
“ferir” frequency rank: 31373
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	feras	ferir
Definition	forma feminina plural de fero	causar ferimento a

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set feras and ferir apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

feras

5 ch

ferir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feras is /ˈfɛ.ɾɐs/ while ferir is /fɨ.ˈɾiɾ/. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31373, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feras is recorded at frequency rank #21,182, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈfɛ.ɾɐs/. ferir is at rank #10,191, tagged as averb, pronounced /fɨ.ˈɾiɾ/.

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 31373, this pair ranks #36,747 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of feras vs ferir

Shared letters: efr. Private to "feras": as. Private to "ferir": i.

"feras" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "ferir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

feras ← efras · fears · ferass · ferras · fersa · fferas · freas
ferir ← efrir · feirr · ferirr · ferri · ferrir · fferir · freir

Frequency comparison

feras#21,182

ferir#10,191

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "feras" and "ferir" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "feras" is an adjective and "ferir" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "feras" or "ferir"?

"ferir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,191 in our Portuguese list, against #21,182 for "feras". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering feras vs ferir

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “feras”; for a verb, it's “ferir”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “feras” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable