Which to use
“peste” and “posse” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,061
- “peste” frequency rank
- #2,022
- “posse” frequency rank
- 12083
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | peste | posse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | epidemia grave | aquilo que se possui, aquilo que nos pertence |
Where the eye mixes peste and posse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: peste vs posse
A purely visual mix-up. peste (/ˈpɛʃ.tɨ/) and posse (/ˈpɔ.sɨ/) 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 12083, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
peste is recorded at frequency rank #10,061, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɛʃ.tɨ/. posse is at rank #2,022, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɔ.sɨ/.
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 12083, this pair ranks #60,619 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of peste vs posse
Shared letters: eps. Private to "peste": t. Private to "posse": o.
"peste" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "posse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "peste" and "posse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "peste" vs "posse" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "peste" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "posse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #60,619 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "peste" and "posse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "peste vs petty". 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 #60,619 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.