Which to use
“passível” and “plausível” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,830
- “passível” frequency rank
- #17,355
- “plausível” frequency rank
- 39185
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | passível | plausível |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | que pode ser; que tem a potencialidade de | digno ou merecedor de aplauso |
Where the eye mixes passível and plausível
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. passível runs 8 letters (CVCCVCVC) against plausível's 9 (CCVVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses passível with plausível
A purely visual mix-up. passível (/pɐ.ˈsi.vɛɫ/) and plausível (/plaw.ˈzi.vɛɫ/) 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 39185, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
passível is recorded at frequency rank #21,830, classified as anadj, pronounced /pɐ.ˈsi.vɛɫ/. plausível is at rank #17,355, tagged as anadj, pronounced /plaw.ˈzi.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 39185, this pair ranks #27,117 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of passível vs plausível
Shared letters: aelpsví. Private to "passível": -. Private to "plausível": u.
"passível" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC · "plausível" · 9 letters · shape CCVVCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "passível" and "plausível" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Portuguese text, does "passível" or "plausível" show up more?
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 "passível" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "plausível" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #27,117 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "passível" and "plausível" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "passível vs passivo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #27,117 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.