Which to use
“fossa” and “frisa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,291
- “fossa” frequency rank
- #34,729
- “frisa” frequency rank
- 52020
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fossa | frisa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | grande abertura na terra | tecido grosseiro de lã |
Where the eye mixes fossa and frisa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fossa (CVCCV) and frisa (CCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: fossa vs frisa
A purely visual mix-up. fossa (/ˈfɔ.sɐ/) and frisa (/ˈfɾi.zɐ/) 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 52020, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fossa is recorded at frequency rank #17,291, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɔ.sɐ/. frisa is at rank #34,729, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɾi.zɐ/.
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 52020, this pair ranks #13,108 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fossa vs frisa
Shared letters: afs. Private to "fossa": o. Private to "frisa": ir.
"fossa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "frisa" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fossa" for "frisa" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fossa" or "frisa"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fossa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "frisa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,108 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fossa" and "frisa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "frisa vs friso". 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 #13,108 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.