fútbolvsfútilWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fútbol is a noun, fútil is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fútbol” is a noun and “fútil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,035
“fútbol” frequency rank
#22,994
“fútil” frequency rank
59029
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fútbol fútil
Definition futebol incapaz de produzir qualquer resultado; inútil

Letter map: fútbol vs fútil

Shared letters muted; letters that set fútbol and fútil apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. fútbol runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against fútil's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
fútbol
5 ch
fútil

Role in the sentence - fútbol and fútil

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: fútbol is anoun and fútilanadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fútbol is recorded at frequency rank #36,035, classified as anoun. 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 59029, this pair ranks #8,415 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fútbol vs fútil

Shared letters: fltú. Private to "fútbol": bo. Private to "fútil": i.

"fútbol" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "fútil" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "fútbol" and "fútil" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fútbol" is a noun and "fútil" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "fútbol" vs "fútil" - which ranks higher?
"fútil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,994 in our Portuguese list, against #36,035 for "fútbol". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "fútbol" and "fútil".

  • Full dictionary entry for "fútbol" 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 #8,415 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fútbol" and "fútil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fil vs fútil". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #8,415 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