Which to use
“foca” and “fosco” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,772
- “foca” frequency rank
- #48,427
- “fosco” frequency rank
- 57199
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foca | fosco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | forma atenuada de, e o mesmo que foda | não brunido, sem brilho, embaciado, não transparente |
Where the eye mixes foca and fosco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. foca runs 4 letters (CVCV) against fosco's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses foca with fosco
A purely visual mix-up. foca (/ˈfɔ.kɐ/) and fosco (/ˈfoʃ.ku/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57199, 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/. fosco is at rank #48,427, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈfoʃ.ku/.
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 57199, this pair ranks #9,469 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of foca vs fosco
Shared letters: cfo. Private to "foca": a. Private to "fosco": s.
"foca" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fosco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "foca" for "fosco" ever safe?
Frequency check: "foca" vs "fosco" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "foca" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fosco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #9,469 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foca" and "fosco" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fisco 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 #9,469 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.