Which to use
“foi” is a verb and “fora” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26
- “foi” frequency rank
- #246
- “fora” frequency rank
- 272
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foi | fora |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo ser | exteriormente |
Where the eye mixes foi and fora
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between foi and fora
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: foi is /ˈfoj/ while fora is /ˈfɔ.ɾɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 272, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foi is recorded at frequency rank #26, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfoj/. 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 272, this pair ranks #75,364 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of foi vs fora
Shared letters: fo. Private to "foi": i. Private to "fora": ar.
"foi" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "fora" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fora ← ffora · foar · forra · froa · ofra
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "foi" for "fora" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "foi" or "fora" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "foi" 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 #75,364 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foi" and "fora" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fern vs fora". 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 #75,364 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.