Which to use
“preso” is an adjective and “prisão” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,020
- “preso” frequency rank
- #834
- “prisão” frequency rank
- 1854
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | preso | prisão |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | encarceirado, levado à prisão | ato ou efeito de prender |
Letter map: preso vs prisão
Shared letters muted; letters that set preso and prisão apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.
Grammar separator: preso vs prisão
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: preso is anadjective and prisãoanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
preso is recorded at frequency rank #1,020, classified as anadj. prisão is at rank #834, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɾi.ˈzɐ̃w̃/.
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 1854, this pair ranks #73,673 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of preso vs prisão
Shared letters: oprs. Private to "preso": e. Private to "prisão": iã.
"preso" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "prisão" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- preso ← perso · ppreso · preos · presso · prreso · prseo · rpeso
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "preso" and "prisão" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "preso" vs "prisão" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pair "preso" vs "prisão" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "preso" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "prisão" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #73,673 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "preso" and "prisão" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "preso vs priest". 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 #73,673 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.