modemvsmóvelConfusable pair

Quick tell: modem is a noun, móvel is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#28,676
“modem” frequency rank
#4,325
“móvel” frequency rank
33001
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature modem móvel
Definition dispositivo de entrada e saída, modulador e desmodulador, utilizado para transmissão e processamento de dados entre computadores através de uma linha de comunicação que se move

Where the eye mixes modem and móvel

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

5 ch
modem
5 ch
móvel

Look-alike desk: modem vs móvel

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: modem is /mɔ.ˈdɛm/ while móvel is /ˈmɔ.vɛɫ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 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 33001, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

modem is recorded at frequency rank #28,676, classified as anoun, pronounced /mɔ.ˈdɛm/. móvel is at rank #4,325, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈmɔ.vɛɫ/.

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 33001, this pair ranks #34,635 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of modem vs móvel

Shared letters: em. Private to "modem": do. Private to "móvel": lvó.

"modem" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "móvel" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • modemmdoem · mmodem · moddem · modemm · modme · moedm · omdem

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "modem" for "móvel" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "modem" is a noun and "móvel" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "modem" vs "móvel" - which ranks higher?
"móvel" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,325 in our Portuguese list, against #28,676 for "modem". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "modem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "móvel" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #34,635 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "modem" and "móvel" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "moagem vs modem". 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 #34,635 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