galêsvsgásConfusable pair

Quick tell: galês is a adjective, gás is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#22,652
“galês” frequency rank
#1,748
“gás” frequency rank
24400
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature galês gás
Definition do País de Gales estado fluido da matéria, sem forma definida, cujo volume é o do recipiente que o contém

Where the eye mixes galês and gás

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

5 ch
galês
3 ch
gás

Why the eye confuses galês with gás

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: galês is /ɡa.ˈlejs/ while gás is /ˈɡaʃ/. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24400, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

galês is recorded at frequency rank #22,652, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɡa.ˈlejs/. gás is at rank #1,748, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɡaʃ/.

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 24400, this pair ranks #45,226 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of galês vs gás

Shared letters: gs. Private to "galês": alê. Private to "gás": á.

"galês" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "gás" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "galês" for "gás" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "galês" is an adjective and "gás" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "galês" or "gás"?
"gás" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,748 in our Portuguese list, against #22,652 for "galês". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "galês" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "gás" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #45,226 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "galês" and "gás" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "galês vs gaze". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #45,226 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