português vs portuguesas, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#541
“português” frequency rank: #6,922
“portuguesas” frequency rank: 7463
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	português	portuguesas
Definition	pertencente a Portugal ou relativo a ele	feminino plural de português

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set português and portuguesas apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch

português

11 ch

portuguesas

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. português (/poʁ.tuˈɡe(j)s/ [poh.tuˈɡe(ɪ̯)s]) and portuguesas (/poɾ.tu.ˈge.zɐs/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7463, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

português is recorded at frequency rank #541, classified as anadj, pronounced /poʁ.tuˈɡe(j)s/ [poh.tuˈɡe(ɪ̯)s]. portuguesas is at rank #6,922, tagged as anadj, pronounced /poɾ.tu.ˈge.zɐs/.

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 7463, this pair ranks #66,662 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of português vs portuguesas

Shared letters: goprstu. Private to "português": ê. Private to "portuguesas": ae.

"português" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVVC · "portuguesas" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

portuguesas ← oprtuguesas · porrtuguesas · portguuesas · porttuguesas · portugeusas · portugguesas · portugueass · portuguesass

Frequency comparison

português#541

portuguesas#6,922

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "português" and "portuguesas" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/poʁ.tuˈɡe(j)s/ [poh.tuˈɡe(ɪ̯)s] versus /poɾ.tu.ˈge.zɐs/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "português" or "portuguesas"?

"português" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #541 in our Portuguese list, against #6,922 for "portuguesas". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering português vs portuguesas

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 “português” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable