pau vs pé, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#2,492
“pau” frequency rank: #878
“pé” frequency rank: 3370
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	pau	pé
Definition	bastão de madeira	extremidade dos membros inferiores do corpo humano, responsável pelo equilíbrio

Where the eye mixes pau and pé

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch

pau

2 ch

pé

Why the eye confuses pau with pé

A purely visual mix-up. pau (/ˈpaw/) 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 3370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pau is recorded at frequency rank #2,492, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpaw/. 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 3370, this pair ranks #71,787 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of pau vs pé

Shared letters: p. Private to "pau": au. Private to "pé": é.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

Which is more common, "pau" or "pé"?

"pé" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #878 in our Portuguese list, against #2,492 for "pau". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "pau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "pé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #71,787 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"pau" and "pé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pau vs pix". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #71,787 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.