Which to use
“penso” is an adjective and “pes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,253
- “penso” frequency rank
- #23,445
- “pes” frequency rank
- 24698
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | penso | pes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | inclinado; pendido ou de mau jeito | cão |
Where the eye mixes penso and pes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. penso runs 5 letters (CVCCV) against pes's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between penso and pes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: penso is /ˈpẽ.su/ while pes is /ˈpɛs ouvir^(fonte ?). Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24698, 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/. pes is at rank #23,445, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɛs ouvir^(fonte ?).
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 24698, this pair ranks #44,853 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of penso vs pes
Shared letters: eps. Private to "penso": no. Private to "pes": -.
"penso" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "pes" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- penso ← epnso · pennso · penos · pensso · pesno · pneso · ppenso
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "penso" for "pes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "penso" vs "pes" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "penso" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "pes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #44,853 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "penso" and "pes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pes vs pix". 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 #44,853 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.