poçovspoçosWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,129
“poço” frequency rank
#11,936
“poços” frequency rank
17065
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature poço poços
Definition buraco fundo, geralmente circular, cavado no chão, com o objetivo de encontrar água plural de poço

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set poço and poços apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
poço
5 ch
poços

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. poço (/ˈpo.su/) and poços (/ˈpɔ.sus/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “poço” sits inside “poços”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17065, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

poço is recorded at frequency rank #5,129, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpo.su/. poços is at rank #11,936, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɔ.sus/.

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 17065, this pair ranks #54,275 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of poço vs poços

Shared letters: opç. Private to "poço": -. Private to "poços": s.

"poço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "poços" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

poço#5,129
poços#11,936

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "poço" and "poços" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpo.su/ versus /ˈpɔ.sus/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "poço" or "poços"?
"poço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,129 in our Portuguese list, against #11,936 for "poços". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering poço vs poços

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 “poço” 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