Which to use
“passa” is an intj and “pessoa” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #469
- “passa” frequency rank
- #235
- “pessoa” frequency rank
- 704
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | passa | pessoa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | expressa enxotadura direcionada a cão | indivíduo consciente de si e distinto dos demais |
Where the eye mixes passa and pessoa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: passa vs pessoa
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: passa is /ˈpa.sɐ/ while pessoa is /pɨ.ˈso.ɐ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (intj vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 704, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
passa is recorded at frequency rank #469, classified as anintj, pronounced /ˈpa.sɐ/. pessoa is at rank #235, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɨ.ˈso.ɐ/.
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 704, this pair ranks #74,949 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of passa vs pessoa
Shared letters: aps. Private to "passa": -. Private to "pessoa": eo.
"passa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "pessoa" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "passa" and "pessoa" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "passa" or "pessoa"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "passa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pessoa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #74,949 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "passa" and "pessoa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "passa vs pastar". 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 #74,949 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.