Which to use
“foi” is a verb and “fun” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26
- “foi” frequency rank
- #16,068
- “fun” frequency rank
- 16094
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foi | fun |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo ser | divertido |
Where the eye mixes foi and fun
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between foi and fun
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: foi is /ˈfoj/ while fun is /fʌn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16094, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foi is recorded at frequency rank #26, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfoj/. fun is at rank #16,068, tagged as anadj, pronounced /fʌn/.
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 16094, this pair ranks #55,528 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of foi vs fun
Shared letters: f. Private to "foi": io. Private to "fun": nu.
"foi" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "fun" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "foi" for "fun" ever safe?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "foi" or "fun" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "foi" and "fun" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "foi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fun" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #55,528 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foi" and "fun" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fern vs fun". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #55,528 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.