Which to use
“fôssemos” and “fosses” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,493
- “fôssemos” frequency rank
- #29,740
- “fosses” frequency rank
- 57233
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fôssemos | fosses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | primeira pessoa do plural do pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo do verbo ser. | segunda pessoa do singular do pretérito imperfeito do subjuntivo do verbo ser |
Where the eye mixes fôssemos and fosses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fôssemos runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against fosses's 6 (CVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fôssemos vs fosses
A purely visual mix-up. fôssemos (/ˈfo.se.mus/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57233, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fôssemos is recorded at frequency rank #27,493, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfo.se.mus/. 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 57233, this pair ranks #9,452 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fôssemos vs fosses
Shared letters: efos. Private to "fôssemos": mô. Private to "fosses": -.
"fôssemos" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "fosses" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fosses ← ffosses · fosess · fossess · fossse · fsoses · ofsses
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fôssemos" for "fosses" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fôssemos" or "fosses"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "fôssemos" and "fosses" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fôssemos" 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 #9,452 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fôssemos" 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 #9,452 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.