Which to use
“fui” is a verb and “fútil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #365
- “fui” frequency rank
- #22,994
- “fútil” frequency rank
- 23359
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fui | fútil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito perfeito simples do indicativo do verbo ir: | incapaz de produzir qualquer resultado; inútil |
Where the eye mixes fui and fútil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fui runs 3 letters (CVV) against fútil's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fui and fútil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fui is /ˈfuj/ while fútil is /ˈfu.tiɫ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 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 23359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fui is recorded at frequency rank #365, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfuj/. fútil is at rank #22,994, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈfu.tiɫ/.
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 23359, this pair ranks #46,468 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fui vs fútil
Shared letters: fi. Private to "fui": u. Private to "fútil": ltú.
"fui" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "fútil" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fui" and "fútil" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "fui" or "fútil" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fui" and "fútil" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fui" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fútil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #46,468 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fui" and "fútil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fútbol vs fútil". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #46,468 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.