Which to use
“foca” is an adjective and “fora” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,772
- “foca” frequency rank
- #246
- “fora” frequency rank
- 9018
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foca | fora |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | forma atenuada de, e o mesmo que foda | exteriormente |
Where the eye mixes foca and fora
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses foca with fora
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: foca is /ˈfɔ.kɐ/ while fora is /ˈfɔ.ɾɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “foca” becomes r in “fora”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9018, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foca is recorded at frequency rank #8,772, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈfɔ.kɐ/. fora is at rank #246, tagged as anadv, pronounced /ˈfɔ.ɾɐ/.
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 9018, this pair ranks #64,560 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of foca vs fora
Shared letters: afo. Private to "foca": c. Private to "fora": r.
"foca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fora" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "foca" for "fora" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "foca" or "fora" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "foca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fora" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #64,560 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foca" and "fora" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "foca vs fosco". 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 #64,560 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.