fiovsfixoTell them apart

Quick tell: fio is a noun, fixo is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fio” is a noun and “fixo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,904
“fio” frequency rank
#7,409
“fixo” frequency rank
11313
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fio fixo
Definition linha o mesmo que fixado; firme, inamovível, bem preso:

Letter map: fio vs fixo

Shared letters muted; letters that set fio and fixo apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.

3 ch
fio
4 ch
fixo

Grammar separator: fio vs fixo

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: fio is anoun and fixoanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11313, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fio is recorded at frequency rank #3,904, classified as anoun. fixo is at rank #7,409, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈfi.ksu/.

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 11313, this pair ranks #61,566 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fio vs fixo

Shared letters: fio. Private to "fio": -. Private to "fixo": x.

"fio" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "fixo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fixoffixo · fiox · fixxo · fxio · ifxo

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fio" and "fixo" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fio" is a noun and "fixo" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "fio" vs "fixo" - which ranks higher?
"fio" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,904 in our Portuguese list, against #7,409 for "fixo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "fio" and "fixo".

  • Full dictionary entry for "fio" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fixo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #61,566 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fio" and "fixo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filão vs fixo". 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 #61,566 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