vssieWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#17,153
“sã” frequency rank
#40,788
“sie” frequency rank
57941
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature sie
Definition tempo propício, adequado, para semear ela, pronome pessoal feminino do caso nominativo da terceira pessoa do singular:

Where the spellings diverge

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

2 ch
sã
3 ch
sie

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: is anoun and sieapronoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57941, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

is recorded at frequency rank #17,153, classified as anoun. sie is at rank #40,788, tagged as apron, pronounced /zi:/ ouvir^(fonte ?) ouvir^(fonte ?).

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 57941, this pair ranks #9,028 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of sã vs sie

Shared letters: s. Private to "sã": ã. Private to "sie": ei.

"sã" · 2 letters · shape CV  ·  "sie" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

#17,153
sie#40,788

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "sã" and "sie" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "sã" is a noun and "sie" a pronoun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "sã" or "sie"?
"sã" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,153 in our Portuguese list, against #40,788 for "sie". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering sã vs sie

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 “sie”.
  • 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