peixevspesteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,341
“peixe” frequency rank
#10,061
“peste” frequency rank
12402
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature peixe peste
Definition animal aquático pecilotérmico, dotado de corpo fusiforme, nadadeiras e guelras epidemia grave

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set peixe and peste apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
peixe
5 ch
peste

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. peixe (/ˈpej.ʃi/ plural: /ˈpej.ʃis/ ou /ˈpej.ʃiʃ/) and peste (/ˈpɛʃ.tɨ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12402, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

peixe is recorded at frequency rank #2,341, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpej.ʃi/ plural: /ˈpej.ʃis/ ou /ˈpej.ʃiʃ/. peste is at rank #10,061, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɛʃ.tɨ/.

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 12402, this pair ranks #60,202 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of peixe vs peste

Shared letters: ep. Private to "peixe": ix. Private to "peste": st.

"peixe" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV  ·  "peste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • peixeepixe · peiex · peixxe · pexie · piexe · ppeixe
  • pesteepste · peset · pesste · pestte · petse · ppeste · psete

Frequency comparison

peixe#2,341
peste#10,061

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "peixe" and "peste" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpej.ʃi/ plural: /ˈpej.ʃis/ ou /ˈpej.ʃiʃ/ versus /ˈpɛʃ.tɨ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "peixe" or "peste"?
"peixe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,341 in our Portuguese list, against #10,061 for "peste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering peixe vs peste

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “peixe” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list