Which to use
“fossem” is a verb and “fosso” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,145
- “fossem” frequency rank
- #15,815
- “fosso” frequency rank
- 17960
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fossem | fosso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do plural do pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo do verbo ser | cova |
Where the eye mixes fossem and fosso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fossem runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against fosso's 5 (CVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fossem with fosso
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fossem is /ˈfo.sẽ/ while fosso is /ˈfo.su/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fossem is recorded at frequency rank #2,145, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfo.sẽ/. fosso is at rank #15,815, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfo.su/.
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 17960, this pair ranks #53,147 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fossem vs fosso
Shared letters: fos. Private to "fossem": em. Private to "fosso": -.
"fossem" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fosso" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fossem" and "fosso" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "fossem" or "fosso" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fossem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fosso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #53,147 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fossem" and "fosso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fosco vs fosso". 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 #53,147 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.