Which to use
“fosco” and “fraco” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,427
- “fosco” frequency rank
- #3,401
- “fraco” frequency rank
- 51828
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fosco | fraco |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | não brunido, sem brilho, embaciado, não transparente | sem força |
Where the eye mixes fosco and fraco
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fosco (CVCCV) and fraco (CCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses fosco with fraco
A purely visual mix-up. fosco (/ˈfoʃ.ku/) and fraco (/ˈfɾa.ku/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51828, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fosco is recorded at frequency rank #48,427, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈfoʃ.ku/. fraco is at rank #3,401, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈfɾa.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 51828, this pair ranks #13,277 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fosco vs fraco
Shared letters: cfo. Private to "fosco": s. Private to "fraco": ar.
"fosco" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "fraco" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fosco" and "fraco" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "fosco" vs "fraco" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fosco" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fraco" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,277 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fosco" and "fraco" 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 #13,277 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.