Which to use
“fossem” and “fostes” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,145
- “fossem” frequency rank
- #42,935
- “fostes” frequency rank
- 45080
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fossem | fostes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | terceira pessoa do plural do pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo do verbo ser | segunda pessoa do plural do pretérito perfeito do indicativo do verbo ser |
Where the eye mixes fossem and fostes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fossem and fostes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: fossem vs fostes
A purely visual mix-up. fossem (/ˈfo.sẽ/) and fostes (/ˈfos.ʧis/) 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 45080, 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/. fostes is at rank #42,935, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfos.ʧis/.
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 45080, this pair ranks #20,351 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fossem vs fostes
Shared letters: efos. Private to "fossem": m. Private to "fostes": t.
"fossem" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "fostes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fossem" for "fostes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fossem" vs "fostes" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "fossem" and "fostes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fossem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fostes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #20,351 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fossem" and "fostes" 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 #20,351 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.