fezesvsforesConfusable pair

Quick tell: fezes is a noun, fores is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fezes” is a noun and “fores” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,115
“fezes” frequency rank
#24,651
“fores” frequency rank
39766
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fezes fores
Definition substância resultante do processo de digestão que não foi aproveitada pelo organismo; excremento segunda pessoa do singular do futuro do conjuntivo/subjuntivo do verbo ir;

Where the eye mixes fezes and fores

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
fezes
5 ch
fores

Look-alike desk: fezes vs fores

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fezes is /ˈfɛ.zis/ while fores is /ˈfo.ɾes/. 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 39766, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fezes is recorded at frequency rank #15,115, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɛ.zis/. fores is at rank #24,651, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfo.ɾes/.

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 39766, this pair ranks #26,435 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fezes vs fores

Shared letters: efs. Private to "fezes": z. Private to "fores": or.

"fezes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "fores" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fezesefzes · feezs · fezess · fezse · fezzes · ffezes · fzees
  • foresffores · foers · foress · forres · forse · froes · ofres

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fezes" for "fores" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fezes" is a noun and "fores" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fezes" or "fores"?
"fezes" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,115 in our Portuguese list, against #24,651 for "fores". 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 "fezes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fores" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #26,435 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fezes" and "fores" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fores vs former". 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 #26,435 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