fomevsfosteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fome is a noun, foste is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fome” is a noun and “foste” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,047
“fome” frequency rank
#11,469
“foste” frequency rank
12516
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fome foste
Definition necessidade de comer ou grande apetite; sofreguidão segunda pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo ser

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fome and foste apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
fome
5 ch
foste

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

fome and foste form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12516, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fome is recorded at frequency rank #1,047, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɔ.mɨ/. foste is at rank #11,469, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfos.ʧi/.

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 12516, this pair ranks #60,022 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

fome#1,047
foste#11,469

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fome" and "foste" be used interchangeably?
No, "fome" and "foste" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering fome vs foste

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “fome”; for a verb, it's “foste”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fome” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list