pão vs pé, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“pão” and “pé” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,942
“pão” frequency rank: #878
“pé” frequency rank: 2820
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	pão	pé
Definition	alimento à base de farinha amassada, fermentada e assada em forno	extremidade dos membros inferiores do corpo humano, responsável pelo equilíbrio

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pão and pé apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

pão

2 ch

pé

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. pão (/ˈpɐ̃w̃/) and pé (/ˈpɛ/) 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 2820, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pão is recorded at frequency rank #1,942, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɐ̃w̃/. pé is at rank #878, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɛ/.

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 2820, this pair ranks #72,435 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pão vs pé

Shared letters: p. Private to "pão": oã. Private to "pé": é.

"pão" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "pé" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequency comparison

pão#1,942

pé#878

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pão" and "pé" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ˈpɐ̃w̃/ versus /ˈpɛ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "pão" or "pé"?

"pé" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #878 in our Portuguese list, against #1,942 for "pão". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pão vs pé

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pão” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable