Which to use
“pecado” is a noun and “pesado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,926
- “pecado” frequency rank
- #3,509
- “pesado” frequency rank
- 7435
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | pecado | pesado |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | transgressão de um preceito religioso | que pesa muito |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pecado and pesado apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
pecado and pesado form a confusable pair in the Portuguese index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - c in “pecado” becomes s in “pesado” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7435, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
pecado is recorded at frequency rank #3,926, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɨ.ˈka.du/. pesado is at rank #3,509, tagged as anadj, pronounced /pɨ.ˈza.du/.
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 7435, this pair ranks #66,694 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "pecado" and "pesado" be used interchangeably?
Remembering pecado vs pesado
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “pecado”; for an adjective, it's “pesado”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pecado” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable