Which to use
“passado” and “passivo” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #418
- “passado” frequency rank
- #13,807
- “passivo” frequency rank
- 14225
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | passado | passivo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | diz-se do evento que não mais ocorre ou da coisa que não mais existe | diz-se daquele (ou daquilo) que sofre uma ação ou recebe seu efeito |
Letter map: passado vs passivo
Shared letters muted; letters that set passado and passivo apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Pair insight - passado / passivo
passado and passivo are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14225, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
passado is recorded at frequency rank #418, classified as anadj. passivo is at rank #13,807, tagged as anadj, pronounced /pa.ˈsi.vu/ ouvir ^(fonte ?).
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 14225, this pair ranks #57,935 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of passado vs passivo
Shared letters: aops. Private to "passado": d. Private to "passivo": iv.
"passado" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "passivo" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "passado" and "passivo" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "passado" or "passivo"?
Useful next steps
Pair "passado" vs "passivo" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "passado" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "passivo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #57,935 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "passado" and "passivo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "passível vs passivo". 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 #57,935 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.