Which to use
“posto” and “preto” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,722
- “posto” frequency rank
- #1,255
- “preto” frequency rank
- 2977
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | posto | preto |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | colocado, plantado, posicionado | que tem cor preta |
Where the eye mixes posto and preto
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between posto and preto
A purely visual mix-up. posto (/ˈpoʃ.tʊ/) and preto (/ˈpɾetu/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2977, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
posto is recorded at frequency rank #1,722, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈpoʃ.tʊ/. preto is at rank #1,255, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɾetu/.
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 2977, this pair ranks #72,241 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of posto vs preto
Shared letters: opt. Private to "posto": s. Private to "preto": er.
"posto" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "preto" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "posto" and "preto" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "posto" or "preto"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "posto" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "preto" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #72,241 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "posto" and "preto" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Pluto vs posto". 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 #72,241 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.