Which to use
“intensivo” and “intenso” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,051
- “intensivo” frequency rank
- #4,735
- “intenso” frequency rank
- 21786
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intensivo | intenso |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que tem o caráter de intensidade | que existe ou ocorre em alto grau |
Where the eye mixes intensivo and intenso
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. intensivo runs 9 letters (VCCVCCVCV) against intenso's 7 (VCCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between intensivo and intenso
A purely visual mix-up. intensivo (/ĩ.tẽ.ˈsi.vu/) and intenso (/ĩ.ˈtẽ.su/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21786, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intensivo is recorded at frequency rank #17,051, classified as anadj, pronounced /ĩ.tẽ.ˈsi.vu/. intenso is at rank #4,735, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ĩ.ˈtẽ.su/.
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 21786, this pair ranks #48,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of intensivo vs intenso
Shared letters: einost. Private to "intensivo": v. Private to "intenso": -.
"intensivo" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV · "intenso" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "intensivo" for "intenso" ever safe?
Frequency check: "intensivo" vs "intenso" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "intensivo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "intenso" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #48,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intensivo" and "intenso" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inofensivo vs intensivo". 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 #48,394 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.