Which to use
“paço” and “poços” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,136
- “paço” frequency rank
- #11,936
- “poços” frequency rank
- 30072
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | paço | poços |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | residência oficial de um governante, monarca, soberano ou dignitário religioso | plural de poço |
Where the eye mixes paço and poços
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. paço runs 4 letters (CVCV) against poços's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses paço with poços
A purely visual mix-up. paço (/pˈasʊ/) and poços (/ˈpɔ.sus/) 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 30072, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
paço is recorded at frequency rank #18,136, classified as anoun, pronounced /pˈasʊ/. poços is at rank #11,936, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɔ.sus/.
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 30072, this pair ranks #38,380 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of paço vs poços
Shared letters: opç. Private to "paço": a. Private to "poços": s.
"paço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "poços" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "paço" and "poços" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "paço" vs "poços" - 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 "paço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "poços" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #38,380 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "paço" and "poços" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "paço vs paçoca". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #38,380 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.