Which to use
“fosse” is a verb and “fóssil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #348
- “fosse” frequency rank
- #18,878
- “fóssil” frequency rank
- 19226
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fosse | fóssil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito imperfeito do conjuntivo do verbo ser | que se extrai da terra |
Where the eye mixes fosse and fóssil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fosse runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against fóssil's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fosse vs fóssil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fosse is /ˈfo.si/ while fóssil is /ˈfɔ.siɫ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19226, 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/. fóssil is at rank #18,878, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈfɔ.siɫ/.
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 19226, this pair ranks #51,568 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fosse vs fóssil
Shared letters: fs. Private to "fosse": eo. Private to "fóssil": iló.
"fosse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "fóssil" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fosse ← ffosse · fose · foses · fsose · ofsse
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fosse" and "fóssil" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fosse" or "fóssil"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "fosse" and "fóssil" 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 "fóssil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #51,568 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fosse" and "fóssil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fosco vs fosse". 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 #51,568 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.