fewvsfuiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: few is a adjective, fui is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#38,283
“few” frequency rank
#365
“fui” frequency rank
38648
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature few fui
Definition pouco; poucos primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito simples do indicativo do verbo ir:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set few and fui apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
few
3 ch
fui

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: few is anadjective and fuiaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38648, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

few is recorded at frequency rank #38,283, classified as anadj. 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 38648, this pair ranks #27,748 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of few vs fui

Shared letters: f. Private to "few": ew. Private to "fui": iu.

"few" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "fui" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

few#38,283
fui#365

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "few" and "fui" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "few" is an adjective and "fui" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "few" or "fui"?
"fui" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #365 in our Portuguese list, against #38,283 for "few". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering few vs fui

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “few”; for a verb, it's “fui”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “few” 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