poçovspomoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#5,129
“poço” frequency rank
#44,054
“pomo” frequency rank
49183
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature poço pomo
Definition buraco fundo, geralmente circular, cavado no chão, com o objetivo de encontrar água fruto carnudo

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
poço
4 ch
pomo

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. poço (/ˈpo.su/) and pomo (/ˈpo.mu/) 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 a single letter - ç in “poço” becomes m in “pomo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49183, 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/. pomo is at rank #44,054, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpo.mu/.

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 49183, this pair ranks #15,885 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of poço vs pomo

Shared letters: op. Private to "poço": ç. Private to "pomo": m.

"poço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "pomo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pomoopmo · pmoo · pommo · poom · ppomo

Frequency comparison

poço#5,129
pomo#44,054

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "poço" and "pomo" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpo.su/ versus /ˈpo.mu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "poço" or "pomo"?
"poço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,129 in our Portuguese list, against #44,054 for "pomo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering poço vs pomo

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list