fugirvsfumarConfusable pair

Which to use

“fugir” and “fumar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,427
“fugir” frequency rank
#4,649
“fumar” frequency rank
7076
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fugir fumar
Definition retirar-se aspirar o fumo de

Where the eye mixes fugir and fumar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
fugir
5 ch
fumar

Why the eye confuses fugir with fumar

A purely visual mix-up. fugir (/fu.ˈʒiɾ/) and fumar (/fu.ˈmaɾ/) 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 7076, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fugir is recorded at frequency rank #2,427, classified as averb, pronounced /fu.ˈʒiɾ/. fumar is at rank #4,649, tagged as averb, pronounced /fu.ˈmaɾ/.

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 7076, this pair ranks #67,163 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fugir vs fumar

Shared letters: fru. Private to "fugir": gi. Private to "fumar": am.

"fugir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "fumar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fugirffugir · fguir · fuggir · fugirr · fugri · fuigr · ufgir
  • fumarffumar · fmuar · fuamr · fumarr · fummar · fumra · ufmar

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "fugir" and "fumar" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/fu.ˈʒiɾ/ versus /fu.ˈmaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "fugir" or "fumar" show up more?
"fugir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,427 in our Portuguese list, against #4,649 for "fumar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "fugir" and "fumar" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fugir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fumar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #67,163 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fugir" and "fumar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fugaz vs fumar". 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 #67,163 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list