Which to use
“fosse” and “fosses” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #348
- “fosse” frequency rank
- #29,740
- “fosses” frequency rank
- 30088
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fosse | fosses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito imperfeito do conjuntivo do verbo ser | segunda pessoa do singular do pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo do verbo ser |
Where the eye mixes fosse and fosses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fosse runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against fosses's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fosse with fosses
A purely visual mix-up. fosse (/ˈfo.si/) and fosses (/ˈfo.sis/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “fosse” sits inside “fosses”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30088, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fosse is recorded at frequency rank #348, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfo.si/. fosses is at rank #29,740, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfo.sis/.
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 30088, this pair ranks #38,368 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fosse vs fosses
Shared letters: efos. Private to "fosse": -. Private to "fosses": -.
"fosse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "fosses" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fosse" and "fosses" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "fosse" or "fosses"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "fosse" and "fosses" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fosse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fosses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #38,368 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fosse" and "fosses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fosses vs fostes". 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 #38,368 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.