herovsheróiWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#15,354
“hero” frequency rank
#2,683
“herói” frequency rank
18037
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature hero herói
Definition herói indivíduo notável positivamente por seus feitos e/ou capacidades

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set hero and herói apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
hero
5 ch
herói

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. hero (/hɪɹoʊ/, /hiːɹoʊ/) and herói (/e.'ɾɔj/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18037, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

hero is recorded at frequency rank #15,354, classified as anoun, pronounced /hɪɹoʊ/, /hiːɹoʊ/. herói is at rank #2,683, tagged as anoun, pronounced /e.'ɾɔj/.

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 18037, this pair ranks #53,051 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of hero vs herói

Shared letters: ehr. Private to "hero": o. Private to "herói": .

"hero" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "herói" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • heroehro · heor · herro · hhero · hreo

Frequency comparison

hero#15,354
herói#2,683

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "hero" and "herói" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/hɪɹoʊ/, /hiːɹoʊ/ versus /e.'ɾɔj/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "hero" or "herói"?
"herói" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,683 in our Portuguese list, against #15,354 for "hero". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering hero vs herói

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “hero” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list