poçovspoxaConfusable pair

Quick tell: poço is a noun, poxa is an intj, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“poço” is a noun and “poxa” is an intj - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,129
“poço” frequency rank
#20,097
“poxa” frequency rank
25226
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature poço poxa
Definition buraco fundo, geralmente circular, cavado no chão, com o objetivo de encontrar água indica surpresa, admiração, irritação

Letter map: poço vs poxa

Shared letters muted; letters that set poço and poxa apart highlighted. Shared run: 2.

4 ch
poço
4 ch
poxa

Role in the sentence - poço and poxa

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: poço is anoun and poxaanintj. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25226, 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/. poxa is at rank #20,097, tagged as anintj.

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 25226, this pair ranks #44,133 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of poço vs poxa

Shared letters: op. Private to "poço": ç. Private to "poxa": ax.

"poço" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "poxa" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • poxaopxa · poax · poxxa · ppoxa · pxoa

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "poço" for "poxa" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "poço" is a noun and "poxa" an intj, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "poço" or "poxa"?
"poço" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,129 in our Portuguese list, against #20,097 for "poxa". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pair "poço" vs "poxa" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "poço" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "poxa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #44,133 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "poço" and "poxa" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "pix vs poxa". 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 #44,133 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list