Which to use
“penso” and “persa” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,253
- “penso” frequency rank
- #7,813
- “persa” frequency rank
- 9066
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | penso | persa |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | inclinado; pendido ou de mau jeito | da Pérsia antiga |
Where the eye mixes penso and persa
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: penso vs persa
A purely visual mix-up. penso (/ˈpẽ.su/) and persa (/ˈpɛɾ.sə/) 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 9066, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
penso is recorded at frequency rank #1,253, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈpẽ.su/. persa is at rank #7,813, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɛɾ.sə/.
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 9066, this pair ranks #64,493 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of penso vs persa
Shared letters: eps. Private to "penso": no. Private to "persa": ar.
"penso" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "persa" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "penso" for "persa" ever safe?
Which is more common, "penso" or "persa"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "penso" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "persa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #64,493 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "penso" and "persa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "penhor vs penso". 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 #64,493 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.