Which to use
“filho” is an adjective and “flo” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #245
- “filho” frequency rank
- #26,750
- “flo” frequency rank
- 26995
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | filho | flo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | procedente, resultante | respirar. |
Where the eye mixes filho and flo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. filho runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against flo's 3 (CCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses filho with flo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: filho is /ˈfi.ʎu/ while flo is /floː/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26995, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
filho is recorded at frequency rank #245, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈfi.ʎu/. flo is at rank #26,750, tagged as averb, pronounced /floː/.
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 26995, this pair ranks #42,050 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of filho vs flo
Shared letters: flo. Private to "filho": hi. Private to "flo": -.
"filho" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "flo" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- filho ← ffilho · fihlo · filhho · fillho · filoh · fliho · iflho
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "filho" and "flo" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "filho" or "flo"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "filho" and "flo" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "filho" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "flo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #42,050 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "filho" and "flo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filão vs flo". 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 #42,050 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.