ferasvsferrãoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: feras is a adjective, ferrão is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#21,182
“feras” frequency rank
#31,372
“ferrão” frequency rank
52554
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feras ferrão
Definition forma feminina plural de fero órgão retrátil dos insetos

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
feras
6 ch
ferrão

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: feras is /ˈfɛ.ɾɐs/ while ferrão is /fɨ.ˈRɐ̃w̃/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52554, 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/. ferrão is at rank #31,372, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɨ.ˈRɐ̃w̃/.

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 52554, this pair ranks #12,681 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of feras vs ferrão

Shared letters: efr. Private to "feras": as. Private to "ferrão": .

"feras" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "ferrão" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • ferasefras · fears · ferass · ferras · fersa · fferas · freas

Frequency comparison

feras#21,182
ferrão#31,372

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "feras" and "ferrão" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "feras" is an adjective and "ferrão" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "feras" or "ferrão"?
"feras" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,182 in our Portuguese list, against #31,372 for "ferrão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering feras vs ferrão

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “feras”; for a noun, it's “ferrão”.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list