Which to use
“ficha” is a verb and “fila” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,988
- “ficha” frequency rank
- #3,079
- “fila” frequency rank
- 7067
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ficha | fila |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do singular do presente do indicativo do verbo fichar | sequência de pessoas ou coisas dispostas de forma organizada, em linha; enfiada |
Where the eye mixes ficha and fila
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ficha with fila
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ficha is /ˈfi.ʃɐ/ while fila is /ˈfi.lɐ/. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ficha is recorded at frequency rank #3,988, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfi.ʃɐ/. fila is at rank #3,079, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfi.lɐ/.
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 7067, this pair ranks #67,175 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ficha vs fila
Shared letters: afi. Private to "ficha": ch. Private to "fila": l.
"ficha" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "fila" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "ficha" and "fila" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "ficha" or "fila"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ficha" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fila" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #67,175 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ficha" and "fila" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fila vs filão". 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 #67,175 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.