fofovsfofocaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fofo is a adjective, fofoca is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#7,529
“fofo” frequency rank
#19,437
“fofoca” frequency rank
26966
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fofo fofoca
Definition que cede facilmente à pressão falação a respeito de assuntos alheios ou rumores, normalmente com tom pernicioso

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fofo and fofoca apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
fofo
6 ch
fofoca

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: fofo is anadjective and fofocaanoun. On the page they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “fofo” sits inside “fofoca”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26966, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fofo is recorded at frequency rank #7,529, classified as anadj. fofoca is at rank #19,437, tagged as anoun, pronounced /fɔ.ˈfɔ.kɐ/.

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 26966, this pair ranks #42,079 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fofo vs fofoca

Shared letters: fo. Private to "fofo": -. Private to "fofoca": ac.

"fofo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "fofoca" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fofoffofo · ffoo · foffo · foof · offo
  • fofocaffofoca · ffooca · fofcoa · foffoca · fofoac · fofocca · foofca · offoca

Frequency comparison

fofo#7,529
fofoca#19,437

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fofo" and "fofoca" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fofo" is an adjective and "fofoca" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fofo" or "fofoca"?
"fofo" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,529 in our Portuguese list, against #19,437 for "fofoca". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fofo vs fofoca

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “fofo”; for a noun, it's “fofoca”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fofo” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list