Which to use
“possessão” is a noun and “possessivo” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #27,223
- “possessão” frequency rank
- #39,328
- “possessivo” frequency rank
- 66551
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | possessão | possessivo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | ato ou fato de possuir | diz-se de quem quer tudo para si |
Where the eye mixes possessão and possessivo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. possessão runs 9 letters (CVCCVCCVV) against possessivo's 10 (CVCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between possessão and possessivo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: possessão is /pu.sɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/ while possessivo is /pu.sɨ.ˈsi.vu/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66551, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
possessão is recorded at frequency rank #27,223, classified as anoun, pronounced /pu.sɨ.ˈsɐ̃w̃/. possessivo is at rank #39,328, tagged as anadj, pronounced /pu.sɨ.ˈsi.vu/.
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 66551, this pair ranks #4,950 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of possessão vs possessivo
Shared letters: eops. Private to "possessão": ã. Private to "possessivo": iv.
"possessão" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCCVV · "possessivo" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- possessivo ← opssessivo · posessivo · posesssivo · possesisvo · possesivo · possessiov · possessivvo · possessvio
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "possessão" for "possessivo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "possessão" vs "possessivo" - 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 "possessão" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "possessivo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #4,950 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- 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 #4,950 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.