pretovsprévioWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,255
“preto” frequency rank
#10,074
“prévio” frequency rank
11329
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature preto prévio
Definition que tem cor preta dito ou feito antes de algo; antecipado; anterior; preliminar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set preto and prévio apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
preto
6 ch
prévio

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. preto (/ˈpɾetu/) and prévio (/ˈpɾɛ.vju/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11329, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

preto is recorded at frequency rank #1,255, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɾetu/. prévio is at rank #10,074, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈpɾɛ.vju/.

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 11329, this pair ranks #61,544 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of preto vs prévio

Shared letters: opr. Private to "preto": et. Private to "prévio": ivé.

"preto" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "prévio" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pretoppreto · preot · pretto · prreto · prteo · rpeto

Frequency comparison

preto#1,255
prévio#10,074

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "preto" and "prévio" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpɾetu/ versus /ˈpɾɛ.vju/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "preto" or "prévio"?
"preto" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,255 in our Portuguese list, against #10,074 for "prévio". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering preto vs prévio

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 “preto” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list