Which to use
“fluir” and “fui” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,377
- “fluir” frequency rank
- #365
- “fui” frequency rank
- 14742
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fluir | fui |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | correr como os líquidos | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito simples do indicativo do verbo ir: |
Where the eye mixes fluir and fui
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fluir runs 5 letters (CCVVC) against fui's 3 (CVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fluir with fui
A purely visual mix-up. fluir (/ˈflwiɾ/) and fui (/ˈfuj/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14742, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fluir is recorded at frequency rank #14,377, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈflwiɾ/. fui is at rank #365, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfuj/.
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 14742, this pair ranks #57,260 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fluir vs fui
Shared letters: fiu. Private to "fluir": lr. Private to "fui": -.
"fluir" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "fui" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fluir ← ffluir · fliur · flluir · fluirr · fluri · fulir · lfuir
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fluir" for "fui" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fluir" or "fui"?
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 "fluir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fui" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,260 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fluir" and "fui" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fleur vs fluir". 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 #57,260 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.