Which to use
“fixar” and “fumar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,303
- “fixar” frequency rank
- #4,649
- “fumar” frequency rank
- 17952
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fixar | fumar |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | tornar fixo, firme, seguro | aspirar o fumo de |
Where the eye mixes fixar and fumar
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fixar vs fumar
A purely visual mix-up. fixar (/fi.ˈksaɾ/) and fumar (/fu.ˈmaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17952, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fixar is recorded at frequency rank #13,303, classified as averb, pronounced /fi.ˈksaɾ/. fumar is at rank #4,649, tagged as averb, pronounced /fu.ˈmaɾ/.
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 17952, this pair ranks #53,156 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fixar vs fumar
Shared letters: afr. Private to "fixar": ix. Private to "fumar": mu.
"fixar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "fumar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fixar" and "fumar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "fixar" or "fumar" show up more?
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 "fixar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fumar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,156 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fixar" and "fumar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filão vs fixar". 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 #53,156 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.