vssiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: is a noun, si is a pronoun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“sã” is a noun and “si” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#17,153
“sã” frequency rank
#482
“si” frequency rank
17635
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature si
Definition tempo propício, adequado, para semear refere-se à terceira pessoa, indica reflexividade e é usado após preposição (a, de, em, contra, sobre, por, etc., exceto com)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set and si apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
sã
2 ch
si

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: is anoun and siapronoun. On the page they differ by a single letter - ã in “sã” becomes i in “si”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17635, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

is recorded at frequency rank #17,153, classified as anoun. si is at rank #482, tagged as apron, pronounced /ˈsi/.

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 17635, this pair ranks #53,563 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of sã vs si

Shared letters: s. Private to "sã": ã. Private to "si": i.

"sã" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "si" · 2 letters · shape CV

Frequency comparison

#17,153
si#482

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sã" and "si" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sã" is a noun and "si" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sã" or "si"?
"si" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #482 in our Portuguese list, against #17,153 for "sã". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering sã vs si

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “sã”; for a pronoun, it's “si”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “sã” 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