Which to use
“hóstia” is a noun and “hostil” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #49,516
- “hóstia” frequency rank
- #12,076
- “hostil” frequency rank
- 61592
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hóstia | hostil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | vítima | ameaçador |
Where the eye mixes hóstia and hostil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses hóstia with hostil
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: hóstia is /ˈɔʃ.tjɐ/ while hostil is /ɔʃ.ˈtiɫ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61592, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hóstia is recorded at frequency rank #49,516, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈɔʃ.tjɐ/. hostil is at rank #12,076, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɔʃ.ˈtiɫ/.
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 61592, this pair ranks #7,066 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of hóstia vs hostil
Shared letters: hist. Private to "hóstia": aó. Private to "hostil": lo.
"hóstia" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "hostil" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- hostil ← hhostil · hositl · hosstil · hostill · hostli · hosttil · hotsil · hsotil
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "hóstia" and "hostil" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "hóstia" vs "hostil" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "hóstia" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hostil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #7,066 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hóstia" and "hostil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hasta vs hóstia". 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 #7,066 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.