Which to use
“houvesse” and “houvessem” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,822
- “houvesse” frequency rank
- #46,367
- “houvessem” frequency rank
- 51189
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | houvesse | houvessem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | primeira pessoa do singular do pretérito imperfeito do conjuntivo do verbo haver | terceira pessoa do plural do pretérito imperfeito do conjuntivo do verbo haver |
Letter map: houvesse vs houvessem
Shared letters muted; letters that set houvesse and houvessem apart highlighted. Shared run: 8. houvesse runs 8 letters (CVVCVCCV) against houvessem's 9 (CVVCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Pair insight - houvesse / houvessem
houvesse and houvessem are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “houvesse” sits inside “houvessem”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51189, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
houvesse is recorded at frequency rank #4,822, classified as averb. houvessem is at rank #46,367, tagged as averb.
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 51189, this pair ranks #13,801 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of houvesse vs houvessem
Shared letters: ehosuv. Private to "houvesse": -. Private to "houvessem": m.
"houvesse" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCCV · "houvessem" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "houvesse" and "houvessem" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "houvesse" or "houvessem" show up more?
After this comparison
Pair "houvesse" vs "houvessem" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "houvesse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "houvessem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #13,801 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- 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 #13,801 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.