precisovspresoWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#252
“preciso” frequency rank
#1,020
“preso” frequency rank
1272
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preciso preso
Definition necessário, importante: encarceirado, levado à prisão

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set preciso and preso apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
preciso
5 ch
preso

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

preciso and preso are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1272, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

preciso is recorded at frequency rank #252, classified as anadj, pronounced /pɾɨ.ˈsi.zu/. preso is at rank #1,020, tagged as anadj.

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 1272, this pair ranks #74,316 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of preciso vs preso

Shared letters: eoprs. Private to "preciso": ci. Private to "preso": -.

"preciso" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV  ·  "preso" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • precisoperciso · ppreciso · prceiso · precciso · precios · precisso · precsio · preicso
  • presoperso · ppreso · preos · presso · prreso · prseo · rpeso

Frequency comparison

preciso#252
preso#1,020

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "preciso" and "preso" be used interchangeably?
No. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "preciso" or "preso"?
"preciso" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #252 in our Portuguese list, against #1,020 for "preso". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering preciso vs preso

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 “preciso” 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