princesavsprincessWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,797
“princesa” frequency rank
#20,409
“princess” frequency rank
22206
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature princesa princess
Definition feminino de príncipe princesa

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set princesa and princess apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
princesa
8 ch
princess

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. princesa (/pɾĩ.ˈse.zɐ/) and princess (/pɹɪnˈsɛs/; /ˈpɹɪnsɛs/) 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 a single letter - a in “princesa” becomes s in “princess”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22206, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

princesa is recorded at frequency rank #1,797, classified as anoun, pronounced /pɾĩ.ˈse.zɐ/. princess is at rank #20,409, tagged as anoun, pronounced /pɹɪnˈsɛs/; /ˈpɹɪnsɛs/.

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 22206, this pair ranks #47,893 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of princesa vs princess

Shared letters: ceinprs. Private to "princesa": a. Private to "princess": -.

"princesa" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCV  ·  "princess" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • princesapirncesa · pprincesa · pricnesa · princcesa · princeas · princessa · princsea · prinecsa
  • princesspirncess · pprincess · pricness · princcess · princes · princses · prinecss · prinncess

Frequency comparison

princesa#1,797
princess#20,409

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "princesa" and "princess" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/pɾĩ.ˈse.zɐ/ versus /pɹɪnˈsɛs/; /ˈpɹɪnsɛs/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "princesa" or "princess"?
"princesa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,797 in our Portuguese list, against #20,409 for "princess". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering princesa vs princess

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 “princesa” 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