Which to use
“filho” is an adjective and “folha” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #245
- “filho” frequency rank
- #1,930
- “folha” frequency rank
- 2175
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | filho | folha |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | procedente, resultante | órgão da planta, geralmente verde e responsável pela fotossíntese (na maioria das vezes), composta de limbo (estrutura laminar), pecíolo (haste que liga o limbo ao caule) e, algumas vezes, bainha (invólucro alongado na base do pecíolo) |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set filho and folha apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
filho and folha form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2175, 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/. folha is at rank #1,930, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfo.ʎɐ/.
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 2175, this pair ranks #73,304 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "filho" and "folha" be used interchangeably?
Remembering filho vs folha
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “filho”; for a noun, it's “folha”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “filho” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable